Independent news publisher The Local is encouraging its readers to designate its regional websites as preferred sources on Google, a move aimed at ensuring its journalism remains visible to audiences amid ongoing search engine changes.
The "preferred sources" feature allows logged-in Google users to manually prioritize which publications they want to see at the top of their search results. While the feature was initially launched exclusively for English-language users worldwide, Google has since expanded it to support most languages globally. Readers can activate this preference by using a newly integrated button located near the top of article pages on The Local, or by visiting their preferred country-specific sites and ticking the selection box, which may require signing into a Google account.
The campaign to secure preferred status comes in response to recent shifts in Google's search algorithms, which have increasingly favored user-generated platforms such as Reddit and Quora at the expense of independent news organizations. The Local also noted that its operations are being challenged by an influx of aggregator websites that scrape and republish its original content, alongside artificial intelligence platforms that utilize its professional journalism to power their own interfaces.
According to the publisher, these combined digital pressures threaten the future viability of independent news outlets that employ experienced journalists to cover issues impacting foreign residents in Europe. By manually selecting the outlet as a preferred source, readers can bypass algorithmic filters and directly support the publication's mission to deliver original, relevant, and timely news to expatriate communities across the continent.
If you like and trust The Local's coverage you can easily add us as a preferred source on Google to make sure our articles appear in your searches.
We have added a button on each article page (scroll up to see it above the introduction) that allows you to easily add one or more of The Local's sites as a preferred source.
