Google Discover now makes up two-thirds of search traffic

Independent Media Association
Sep 17
2 min read

Since its rebranding and relaunch in 2018, publishers have increasingly relied on referrals from Google Discover, which is accessible through Google’s mobile apps and Android operating system.

According to data published by Press Gazette, new figures show that 68% of Google traffic to nearly 2,000 global news and media sites comes from Discover, while the remaining 32% is from traditional search. Overall, Google accounts for 25% of publishers' traffic, with 17% from Discover and 8% from search.

This trend has intensified following Google's expansion of AI Overviews. For many publishers, Discover has become the largest single source of visitors.

Although Google monetises Discover through ads, its primary existence serves strategic purposes rather than significant commercial returns. Alphabet (Google's parent company) does not separately report Discover revenue, but estimates suggest it generates between $0.5 billion and $2 billion, representing only 0.1-0.5% of enterprise revenue, according to Press Gazette.

This means that if Google were to shut down Discover, it would only slightly affect its core search and advertising businesses.

More crucial than the revenue it generates, Google has even more leverage in its increasingly strained relationship with publishers, who provide the content essential for its search and AI revenue streams. As organic search referrals decline due to AI deployment, Discover traffic partially compensates for this loss.

This allows Google to maintain a cashless value exchange with publishers, giving it a bargaining chip in negotiations.

The Independent Media Association is leading a coalition of trade associations in collective bargaining negotiations with Google. This coalition is conducting its own research to demonstrate the significant impact of Google's monopoly on search and AI on publishers.