Top Stories, Your Way: What “Preferred Sources” Means for Publishers

brett Brett Tabkeon
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Preferred sources is a feature that lets users select websites they trust for news. On the surface, this looks fairly benign; however, this is the first time that Google has allowed users to directly effect there own Serps. For 28 years, Google has steadfastly stuck to the one-size-fits-all search service. The only direct user influences to that have been features that sell more ads, like localization and personalization. Both of those are passive and not controllable by the end user.

Yet Google - for all their masses of tech infrastructure, programmers, and resources gives you basically a couple of options. Even the Advanced Search page that used to be linked next to the search box, is now buried so deeply on a submenu, it took me a solid 5 minutes to find it. Once you do find it, you are presented with essentially the same page from 25+ years ago. You don't even get the option of setting the advanced search page as your default Google page.

So to say I was surprised that Google was allowing users to roll their own serps a bit, was an under statement.

You must be logged in, and within Google labs for this feature to work. Once selected, sources get boosted in the “Top Stories” section of Google Search. For example, if a user favors Reuters or TechCrunch, Google will prioritize those outlets when showing breaking news or trending topics.

Two Parts to Top Stories
  • News personalization in Top Stories: The news carousel at the top of search results will feature those preferred outlets a bit more often.
  • Google’s Labs experiment: Some users can now manually adjust which websites appear first in search (not just news).  hola mola! Yes real, user-controlled ranking preferences!

This isn’t just a UI update. It’s a signal that Google is opening the door to user-controlled SERPs - something that’s not been possible before.  The big question remains if they will ever allow users to "ban" sites in there feed (Honestly we all have a <i>death to foo.com</i> site in our pocket! Reddit is mine - what's yours?)

Even clicking on "Remove Result" leaves users with an tricky submenu, that offers no chance to ban the domain from your feed.

 

Does It Matters for SEOs and Publishers?

If users can influence their own search results, traditional SEO ranking tactics won’t be the only game in town. OMG - It depends:

  1. Reputation will be more than backlinks. Getting labeled as a few  "preferred sources" could mean you know - hey it could happen 😉 Seriously, Google uses all the data it has available. They have shown a preference to human source metrics lately.
  2. User loyalty matters again. If users actively follow your brand and select you as a preferred outlet, that trust may carry more weight. Who knows right? Hey, it could happen.
  3. News publishers are the test bed. Google is starting with news, but if the user-customization model sticks, it could roll out to other verticals — like ecommerce, tech, or local services.
  4. It’s a hedge against AI overviews. As AI-generated summaries take over the top of the page, Google still needs a way to signal human trust — and preferred sources could help reinforce that.
The Browser Plugin Hack

A few tech-savvy users have discovered ways to modify which sites show up in all their search results using browser extensions. These don’t just tweak the news carousel, they can reorder Google’s full SERP.

This hack, while unofficial, shows how strong the desire is for search agency. If Google doesn’t offer this natively, people will do it themselves. And that should tell you something about where user expectations are heading. However, it seems like every time users take matter into their own hands with Google, they get swatted away.

How to Enable Pick Your Sources
1. Visit the Search Labs page:
Open labs.google.com/search in any modern browser on your PC, Mac, or mobile device.
Note: This feature is experimental and may not be available to all users yet.

2. Sign in to your Google account:
If you’re not already logged in, sign in with the account you use for search personalization.

3. Enable “Pick your sources”:
Look for the experiment titled "Pick your preferred sources" and toggle it on.

4. Open Google Search:
Go to google.com and perform a news-related search — for example:

“Windows 11 news from Windows Central”

5. Locate the “Top Stories” carousel:
At the top of the search results, you’ll see the “Top stories” section. Click the small star icon next to the header.

6. Search for a source to prioritize:
In the preferences panel that appears, type the name of a website you want to boost — like “Windows Central”.

7. Select the site from the list:
Check the box next to the site name. You can repeat this to select multiple sites.

8. Apply changes:
Click the “Reload results” button to refresh your search and apply the preferences.

9. (Optional) Add more preferred sources:
You can repeat steps 6–8 for additional trusted outlets.

What Can You Do About It?
  • Build brand affinity: Encourage users to add you as a preferred source by being transparent, consistent, and relevant.
  • Monitor referral traffic from Top Stories: If this rolls out wider, you may see changes in traffic patterns.
  • Don’t just optimize for Google — optimize for humans who want to hear from you.

Final Thought

Google’s “Preferred Sources” feature is more than a personalization gimmick. It’s a subtle shift toward user-powered SEO. If it sticks, your traffic could depend on how often someone actively wants to see your site — not just how many links you’ve built.

This could be the start of something bigger.