Google Discover feed (or technology to recreate humanity)

You didn’t ask, but Discover will answer anyway

Until some time ago, Google simply presented us with the results of the search we wrote on the homepage. Now there is Discover, which appears just below the search field and presents us with recommendations based on our interests on certain topics. As Google itself says: “Discover is unique because it’s one step ahead: it helps you find what you haven’t even started looking for.”

Not only can images appear on the topics, but videos and shortcuts to news can also be suggested to us. That is, there is a strong visual component, and this immediately captures our attention, facilitating interaction.

How does Discover know what interests you?

Unsurprisingly, Google tracks the interactions that the user makes on the device through artificial intelligence, whether on the web or in the applications. In other words, it is based on the type of navigation you do, cookies, history and location settings and contact data.

Additionally, the users themselves can consciously demonstrate what interests them when following a particular topic, and whether they want to deepen that interest further (by selecting ‘more’ or ‘less’).

So, but wasn’t the previous feed more or less like that, already?

Overall, yes. But now, in addition to the name, the new feed also looks more appealing, with headers that indicate the topic and an icon to “explore”.

From here you can “Follow” the topic that interests you, either more superficially or in more depth. There you are, here you don’t follow a friend but an interest – and therefore remain permanently updated on the topic.

However, as we have already mentioned, it is also far more interesting now, with specific topics for you and according to your level of interest (and even understanding), than when it showed only news or trends.

In fact, even in this point it is more comprehensive: while Google News allows particular information/article while meeting certain requirements, Discover goes beyond.

What about Discover Ads?

It’s one of the most spoken about aspects of this recent feed (even though google’s news is discreet, curiously): there are ads that appear in carousel, sliding image by image horizontally, which is attractive for many brands that want to get more visibility.

And this advertising goes beyond Discover: ads also circulate on the Youtube homepage and also in Gmail.

Advantages for advertisers

Because Discover relies heavily on the image, one of the advantages for companies is that they can redirect the campaign, using pieces already created on their social networks. There may be a need to readjust the format of the images, for example. In any case, the important thing is to maintain consistency between platforms.

In a way, you have a similar experience to what you have, for example, on facebook with ads displayed in a single image or carousel. This experience makes interaction much more dynamic and interesting. We have already spoken about the connection between social networks and their ability to turn users into potential customers here.

The picture is not all rosy: Discover’s limitation

In this case, there are two.

On the one hand, because ads are automatically displayed, the advertiser can’t distinguish which ads only go to the feed. That is, within the mix of ads displayed on different platforms (Discover, Youtube, Gmail), how do I, as an advertiser, realize what goes only to the Discover feed? On the other hand, the advertiser can’t measure the level of visibility of their ads.

However, as the results have been positive, many advertisers keep betting on Discover, tracking their performance. That is, they can go and see the path made by the user and see if it translates into a new customer through Google Analytics.

From the user’s perspective, we can point out that, as far as news is concerned, the issue of ‘custom content’ does not apply so much, as the technology used by Google Discover is the same as Google News, despite having fewer requirements.

Is Discover here to stay?

For now, it’s too early to assess the potential of this recent Google feed, still available in beta. In addition, given that traffic fluctuates between different platforms (Discover, Youtube, Gmail), the reach of campaigns within this segment becomes unclear to companies.

One thing is certain: despite the current limitations of control, Discover has proven to be an excellent advertising vehicle which has been worth the investment. After all, this feed is a channel of high volume and low CPC (cost per click), which represents an extra benefit for brands, which thereby gain (re)knowledge.
If you still have questions about whether users appreciate Discover: yes. 800 million users per month use this feed.

Speaking of which… if you still don’t know what your next question for google will be, don’t worry: Discover will show you the way. And so goes technology reinventing humanity.

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