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Google Search Console reportedly emailed a site owner a property-level count of people who chose that site as a Google Preferred Source. The message called the metric “Preferred source selections,” with data as of October 5, 2026. The published example does not reveal the number, and the figure is not a count of newsletter or paid subscribers.
What did Google’s email report?
According to Search Engine Roundtable’s October 6, 2026 report, the example email was headed “People are choosing domain as a preferred source.” It listed “Preferred source selections” for a property, with data current as of October 5, 2026.
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The screenshot in that report masks the count, so it does not establish how many people selected the example site. The report also does not establish how many site owners received the message, which properties were eligible, or whether Google makes this figure available inside Search Console. Its account is based on an example email, not a public Google announcement.
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Repair common Windows errors and clear accumulated junk for a smoother, more stable PC - no reinstall needed.Free scan · no reinstallWhat does “Preferred source selections” mean?
It refers to people choosing a site as a preferred source in Google Search. It is not a newsletter subscription, paid subscription, or a count of all Google users who follow the publisher. Google describes Preferred Sources as a way for readers to select favorite news sites and see their articles more often when content is fresh and relevant.
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Google introduced the feature in the United States and India on August 12, 2025. Readers could select sources from Top Stories and manage their choices. Google said early Labs users valued selecting multiple sources, with more than half choosing four or more; that result applied to those early users, not all Search users. Google’s launch announcement explains the initial experience.
Google’s Help documentation says selected sources can appear for relevant queries in Top Stories, and that preferred-source badges can appear in AI Mode and AI Overviews. These are visibility opportunities within specified Search experiences, not a promise of ranking, impressions, or traffic. Google’s Preferred Sources help page describes where the feature appears.
How the email count differs from Google’s public totals
The email’s figure is a count associated with one property. Google’s public figures instead count unique sites or sources selected across the feature. They have different scopes and units, so they should not be combined into a single growth trend.
| Figure | What it counts | Date and source |
|---|---|---|
| “Preferred source selections” | Property-level figure in the reported email; the numeric count is not available in the published screenshot. | Data as of October 5, 2026; email details reported by Search Engine Roundtable on October 6, 2026. |
| More than 200,000 | Unique sites selected, according to Google. | Reported by Google on April 30, 2026. |
| More than 600,000 | Unique sources selected, according to Google. | Reported by Google on August 20, 2026. |
The public totals come from Google’s April 30, 2026 Search update and August 20, 2026 update. They are not user counts, total selections, or subscriber counts.
Does choosing a preferred source lead to more clicks?
Google said readers are twice as likely to click through to a site after marking it as a Preferred Source. That is Google’s stated comparison in its April 30, 2026 update; the post does not provide methodology or sample size, and it does not establish that the feature alone caused the difference. A selection count therefore should not be read as a forecast of visits.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What can publishers do?
The reported email recommended adding Google’s interactive Preferred Sources button to webpages and linked to JavaScript implementation instructions, with an upgrade path from the static image button. It also included a two-minute survey asking whether and how Google should report Preferred Sources data in Search Console, according to Search Engine Roundtable.
Google introduced the interactive button on August 20, 2026. It lets readers add a site as a Preferred Source and return to where they left off, according to Google’s announcement. The button is a way to invite a reader to make that choice; it does not guarantee selection, ranking, or traffic.
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