Google Preferred Sources: Check Eligibility and Implement the Button

Summary: Google Preferred Sources let readers choose the sites they trust: anyone who selects you sees your content in Top Stories and AI Mode with a “preferred” badge. Before implementing anything, though, you should check your site’s eligibility with a simple deep link, because only domains and subdomains qualify, never subdirectories. And you do not need to be a news site: even a services site without a blog can be eligible, as I show with the aimpeto.com example. This guide covers how to check eligibility, how to choose between the JavaScript button and the deep link, and the implementation best practices.

Preferred Sources is one of the most underrated Google Search features: few people know it, yet anyone who selects you as their source sees your content highlighted with a badge in Top Stories, AI Mode, and AI Overview. But before pasting any code into your pages, there is one step almost everyone skips: the eligibility check.

When a user selects your site as a preferred source, your content is more likely to appear in the Top Stories section, highlighted with a “preferred” badge. In AI Mode and AI Overview, your content can be highlighted with the same badge for users who chose your site.

The feature is available globally for Top Stories in all supported languages, and in AI Mode and AI Overview wherever those features are active.

---

Check Eligibility First, Then Implement

My advice before writing a single line of code: verify that your site is actually eligible. It is a thirty-second check that saves you from implementing a button nobody can ever use.

The quickest method is the deep link with your domain:

https://www.google.com/preferences/source?q=yourdomain.com

Replace yourdomain.com with your site’s domain and open the link: if your site shows up in the Preferred Sources tool, you are eligible. If it does not, the button would be useless: you first need to grow your domain’s authority.

The domain rule

There is one precise technical requirement, and most people discover it only after implementing everything:

• ✅ https://www.example.com/ is eligible (domain)
• ✅ https://code.example.com/ is eligible (subdomain)
• ❌ https://www.example.com/blog is NOT eligible (subdirectory)

If your blog lives in a subdirectory, it cannot be selected as a preferred source: eligibility works at the domain and subdomain level, period.

---

You Do Not Need to Be a News Site

Here lies the most widespread misconception: “preferred sources are for newspapers.” Wrong. The criterion is not having a newsroom, but being a domain Google recognizes as a trustworthy source in its field.

A concrete example: aimpeto.com. It has no blog, publishes no news, has no classic editorial calendar. What it does publish, regularly, is clear explanations of the services it offers: pages describing how the company works, what it does, and how. Well: the site is readable and selectable as a preferred source.

The lesson is simple: what matters is consistency and clarity of content, not the type of site. A services site, an e-commerce with buying guides, a portfolio with case studies: all of them can be eligible if they publish useful content on a regular basis.

---

How to Implement: Best Practices Only

Google offers three methods, but in practice two are enough. I will spare you the third (the advanced JavaScript implementation with custom assets): it only serves very specific design needs, and 99 developers out of 100 do not have them.

1. The standard JavaScript button (recommended)

Two lines of HTML and you are done:

<script async src="https://news.google.com/swg/js/v1/publisher.js"></script>
<div google-add-preferred-source-btn></div>

The script goes in the <head> element, the <div> wherever you want the button to appear.

Why it is the best:

• The button is automatically localized: it translates itself based on the browser language
• The user returns to your page: on click, they add your site as a preferred source and come back exactly where they stopped reading. No external window, no lost visitor
• You pick the theme: light or dark with one attribute

If your site has a dark theme:

<div google-add-preferred-source-btn data-theme="dark"></div>

You can also force the button language instead of relying on the browser:

<div google-add-preferred-source-btn data-lang="en"></div>

2. The deep link (when JavaScript is not an option)

Your CMS does not let you insert scripts? Use the deep link as a fallback:

<a href="https://www.google.com/preferences/source?q=yourdomain.com">
  Add as Preferred Source
</a>

You can use it as a text link or inside a clickable image. And here lies its real value: the deep link also works outside your site. Social posts, email newsletters, promotions: any channel where you can put a link becomes an opportunity to ask your readers to add you as a preferred source.

Note one key difference: the deep link takes the user outside your site, to the Google tool. The JavaScript button instead brings them back. That is why the deep link is plan B on your site, but plan A on external channels.

Placement best practices

Do not scatter the button across every page: the effect is counterproductive. The placements that work:

• Right after the title of the article or main page
• In the footer, discreet but reachable from every page
• The deep link on external channels (social, newsletter)

---

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I check if my site is eligible for Preferred Sources?

Open the deep link with your domain: https://www.google.com/preferences/source?q=yourdomain.com. If the site appears in the Preferred Sources tool you are eligible, otherwise not. Remember that only domains and subdomains qualify: a subdirectory like /blog can never be selected.

Do I need a news site to be eligible?

No. The aimpeto.com example proves it: it has no blog but publishes regular explanations of its services, and it is readable as a source. The criterion is publishing clear and consistent content in your field, not having a newsroom.

Does the button take users away from my site?

No, if you use the standard JavaScript implementation: the user adds your site as a preferred source and automatically returns to the page they were reading. Only the deep link takes users outside your site, to the Google tool: that is why it is reserved for CMSs without JavaScript and for external channels like social media and newsletters.

---

Final Checklist

• Eligibility verified : deep link with your domain, site present in the tool
• Domain or subdomain : not a subdirectory like /blog
• Standard JavaScript button : two lines, automatic localization, user returns to the page
• Coherent theme : data-theme="dark" if the site is dark
• Sober placement : after the title or in the footer, not everywhere
• Deep link on external channels : social and newsletter

To go deeper on Google visibility, read my guide on Agentic Browsing in PageSpeed Insights and the Technical SEO Guide for Vibe Coding.