Google explains why Google Discover traffic may increase or decrease

Well, we all know that Google Search has been one of the most unpredictable things out there in the recent times because of the fact that there is no guarantee that if you are ranking then those rankings will stay and there is also no guarantee that if you are not ranking then you are unlikely to rank as your website may pop all of a sudden and get loads of traffic. Talking about Google Search, we also see a lot of updates being released which are also known as algorithm tweaks or updates. Due to this reason, the rankings may vary as Google also needs to keep shuffling the pack otherwise the same results will stick for years to come and they want to index new content as well.

Due to this reason, and because of a wide outcry from various website publishers about drop in Google Discover traffic for their sites, Google has had to explain why their discover traffic might increase or decrease. As per Google, “Traffic from Discover is less predictable or dependable when compared to keyword-driven search visits. Given its serendipitous nature, you should consider traffic from Discover as supplemental to your keyword-driven search traffic.”

Google says in its blog post that these are the reasons why Google Discover traffic may fluctuate:

• Changing interests: Discover is designed and always improving to show content aligned with what someone is interested in, which in part can be based on their search activity. If someone is no longer as interested in a particular topic—perhaps reflected by a decline in searching for it—their Discover feed might show other content they’re more interested in. In turn, this may cause changes in traffic for publishers.
• Content types: Discover has and continues to adjust the types of content that might appear on the feed to better align with what people are looking for. Discover regularly shows content including but not limited to sports, health, entertainment, and lifestyle content from across the open web.
• Updates to Google Search: Periodically, we also make updates to Search designed to better provide people with links to helpful content. Because Discover is an extension of Search, updates can sometimes produce traffic changes. If you notice changes to your website’s performance after an update, the following pages may be useful to consider core updates and helpful content updates.

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