Overview

• Google rolled out Preferred Sources in August for English-language searches in the United States and India.
• From October 6 to 8, dozens of independent sports blogs, including many SB Nation sites, published near-identical guides asking readers to add their outlets as preferred sources.
• The posts offer a direct link to opt in and pitch the step as a win-win that improves personal search results while helping the site’s visibility.
• Publishers describe AI-populated search results as reducing referral value and present Preferred Sources as a practical countermeasure.
• Google says selected outlets are prioritized only when they have fresh, relevant coverage and notes that other publishers still appear, while independent confirmation of traffic changes from these sign-ups has not been reported.