NewzDash has released an insightful analysis examining the impact of Google’s February 2026 Discover core update. This evaluation utilized panel data derived from millions of U.S. users, meticulously tracked via its DiscoverPulse tool.
The analysis juxtaposed visibility metrics before the update (January 25-31) against those post-update (February 8-14), focusing on the premier 1,000 domains and articles across the United States, California, and New York.
For context, it is pertinent to note that NewzDash operates as a news SEO tracking platform, offering specialized tools for monitoring Discover performance.
Insights from the Data
According to Google, this update was aimed at enhancing the prominence of locally relevant narratives while diminishing sensationalism and clickbait. NewzDash’s data provides preliminary insights into all three aspects.
The findings revealed overlapping Discover feeds across California, New York, and the U.S. However, regional domains showcased distinct stories. Notably, local New York domains emerged approximately five times more frequently in the New York feed compared to California, and vice versa.
In California, local articles within the top 100 rankings surged from 10 to 16 after the update. This enhancement included contributions from publishers such as SFGate and the LA Times, which did not feature in the national top 100 during the same timeframe.
Determining the reduction of clickbait was more complex. NewzDash conceded that merely tracking headline indicators could not definitively ascertain a decline in clickbait narratives.
They noted a reduction in visibility of what they termed “templated curiosity-gap patterns.” Moreover, Yahoo’s representation in the U.S. top 1,000 articles fell from 11 to 6, with no items making it into the top 100 post-update.
While unique content categories saw growth across all examined regions, the number of distinct publishers diminished in the United States (from 172 to 158 domains) and California (from 187 to 177).
This dichotomy suggests that Discover is addressing a broader array of topics while redistributing traffic through a more limited cadre of publishers.
This trend is congruent with findings from an earlier December core update analysis, which indicated that specialized websites were gaining traction over more generalist platforms.
Expansion of X.com’s Discovery Footprint
Institutional accounts associated with X.com have seen a marked increase in visibility, rising from 3 to 13 entries within the U.S. top 100 Discover placements and from 2 to 14 in New York’s listings.
NewzDash has diligently monitored the growth of X.com within the Discover framework since November, asserting that the recent update has likely expedited this trend. Most of the high-performing pieces emanating from X.com were linked to established media outlets.
The analysis refrained from conclusively determining whether X posts are affecting publisher traffic within Discover, describing the data as a “directional sanity check.” A critical query remains: does navigation through X introduce friction that may undermine click-through rates to proprietary pages?
The Significance of These Developments
As we continue to scrutinize the ramifications of the Discover core update, early data indicate a predilection for regional publishers providing locally pertinent content in the post-update top rankings.
Discover encompassed a wider array of topics following the update; however, fewer sites in the U.S. and California benefited from this traffic. Publishers lacking a clearly defined thematic focus may find themselves at a disadvantage in this evolving landscape.
Future Considerations
This analysis reflects an initial phase of the rollout, which is still in progress. The post-update evaluation coincided with major events such as the Super Bowl, Winter Olympics, and ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, any of which could inflate visibility in the News and Sports categories independently.
Looking ahead, Google has announced plans to extend the Discover core update beyond English-language users in the United States in the coming months.
Source link: Searchenginejournal.com.
