Google is giving shoppers more control over the sources they see in Search. With Preferred Sources, signed-in users can tell Google which websites they love and want to see more often—creating a direct, user-led path to potentially strengthen visibility across Search experiences, including AI Overviews and AI Mode. For ecommerce brands, that creates a simple new way to build on customer trust.
This topic is being discussed widely across ecommerce retailers, and we may expect competitors to begin testing it as awareness grows.
For now, our recommendation focuses specifically on Google Preferred Sources and how companies can encourage engaged users to select the brand within their Search personalization settings.
What is Google Preferred Sources?
Google currently offers two separate personalization features:
- Preferred Sources within Google Search personalization settings, which allows signed-in users to select websites they would like to see more frequently in personalised Search experiences, including AI Overviews and AI Mode.
- Favorite Brands within Google Shopping preferences, which allows users to select preferred ecommerce brands and can increasingly be accessed directly from shopping-related search results.
These are distinct features and should not be treated as the same functionality.
At this stage, our recommendation focuses only on Preferred Sources. Google provides a direct destination that brands can link users to, creating an opportunity for ecommerce brands to test a lightweight CTA across selected owned channels, encouraging engaged customers to add them as a preferred source.
This is not a traditional ranking factor and should not be positioned as a guaranteed route into AI Overviews or AI Mode. However, it represents a meaningful visibility opportunity by allowing existing brand trust to be translated into an explicit Google preference signal.
We are not currently recommending a CTA or implementation for Favorite Brands, as there is not yet an equivalent brand-controlled button or direct mechanism that companies can use consistently across their owned channels.
Why ‘Preferred Sources’ Matters
- Search results are becoming more personalized, particularly across AI Overviews and AI Mode.
- Google’s Preferred Sources feature allows users to explicitly select websites they trust and want to see more often.
- This creates an opportunity ecommerce brands to turn existing brand affinity into a direct preference signal within Google.
- Users who already engage with your brand may then be more likely to see the brand surfaced across relevant product, category, and informational searches.
- This is not a guaranteed ranking lever, so be careful not to overstate the impact.
- It should be treated as an early-stage test to assess whether promoting Preferred Sources can support stronger visibility in personalised and AI-led Search experiences.
How ‘Preferred Sources’ Works
Google Preferred Sources allows users to add specific domains they want to see more often in Search.
Recommended flow:
- User clicks a CTA on a specific brand-owned channel.
- CTA links to Google Preferred Sources with the brand domain pre-filled.
- User selects that brand as a preferred source.
- Google may personalize that user’s Search, AI Overview, and AI Mode experiences around that preference.
E.g.: https://google.com/preferences/source?q=YourName.com
⚠️ Important: This should be tailored to each domain. Please test first if that domain is available to be added as a Preferred Source.
This does not automatically improve rankings for everyone. It only affects users who actively select the brand as a preferred source. However, for those users, it gives Google a clear preference signal that the brand is a trusted source they want to see more often.
For brands with strong repeat audiences, logged-in customers, newsletter subscribers, app users, or loyal content readers, this is a low-effort way to convert existing brand trust into a search personalization signal.
Test Examples
Test 1
Search for ”How Do Waist Trainers Work?”
SKIMS was not selected as the preferred source.
After adding SKIMS.com as my Preferred Source, I get this result for the same query:
Recommended Action for Ecommerce Brands
Google provides a direct implementation route for Preferred Source:
1. Add CTA.
This can be achieved by:
a) Adding a deep link to Google’s page:
Google’s supported URL format: https://google.com/preferences/source?q=[domain.com]
b) Adding a button
Google also provides downloadable button assets in multiple languages. Use either Google’s supplied button assets where appropriate or adapt the CTA to match existing brand/UI guidelines.
2. Recommended Placements
Consider initial placements:
- Editorial and blog pages – across guides, advice, inspiration, research, comparisons, or educational content. This is the most natural environment for a Preferred Source CTA. Add the CTA near newsletter signup, social follow buttons, or other engagement prompts.
- Logged-in account area – suitable for repeat customers who already have a relationship with the brand.
- Post-purchase confirmation page – good for high-intent users, particularly if positioned as “stay connected” rather than “help us rank”.
- Email and CRM campaigns – include the CTA in newsletters, loyalty emails, product education sequences and content roundups.
- Social posts and profile links – use the Google Preferred Sources deep link in relevant social campaigns, especially when promoting useful content.
As always, avoid using this as a disruptive homepage modal.
Measurement Plan
Google does not currently provide brand-side reporting on how many users complete the preferred source selection, so measurement should focus on controlled signals.
Track:
- CTA impressions and click-through rate
- Email / CRM click performance
- AI Overview and AI Mode visibility across priority queries
- Preferred source badge visibility in controlled testing
- Repeat exposure across informational and commercial-assist journeys
Preferred Sources points to a broader shift in search: visibility may increasingly depend not only on what Google understands about a brand, but also on what users actively choose. That makes the relationship between brand, content, and customer loyalty more connected than ever. The brands best positioned for this shift will be the ones that give people a reason to seek them out, return to them, and ultimately choose them as a source worth seeing again.
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