Google Preferred Source Button Generator
Give readers a one-tap button to make your site a Google preferred source — so you show up more in Top Stories, “From your sources”, and (new in 2026) AI Overviews & AI Mode. Style it, copy the code, done.
Inline button — paste directly into your content.
Google built this — and keeps expanding it
Preferred sources isn’t a workaround or a third-party trick. Google shipped it, wrote the documentation for publishers, and keeps widening where it shows up. If you want to understand the feature before you paste anything on your site, start with the coverage below.
The official publisher guide — documents eligibility rules and the exact deeplink format this generator is built on.
Google’s own announcement, explaining how readers pick the sites they trust and what changes in their results.
Rollout coverage: preferred sources hit 345,000+ picks and expanded into AI search.
Reporting on preferred sources arriving in AI Mode and AI Overviews, not just Top Stories.
Build your button in three steps
No developer, no account. Three steps to a button that makes it effortless for your readers to mark your site as a preferred source.
- 1 Add your domain
We use only the domain itself, since Google matches preferred sources at that level and ignores anything deeper in the URL.
- 2 Style it
Light or dark, three sizes, inline or floating. What you see in the live preview is exactly what you’ll copy.
- 3 Paste it
Put it next to your share buttons, in your footer, or inside an article. You can also share the plain link in a newsletter or a post.
Why a one-tap button wins more picks
A reader can already add you as a preferred source on their own. The catch: almost nobody will dig through Search settings to do it. Your button removes every step in between — one tap opens Google’s tool with your site already loaded, and they’re done.
Once they’ve picked you, Google shows more of your fresh stories and marks them with a “preferred” label that readers learn to recognise. It’s the same friction-killing idea behind our other free tools — the full toolbox, the free SaaSTweaks Score badge, and our no-key APIs.
Where a preferred pick places your stories
A reader’s choice doesn’t stay in one place — the same preference follows them across the surfaces where they actually look things up.
Your articles surface more often in the news carousel, each carrying the “preferred” label.
When Google answers conversationally, your stories can appear flagged for the readers who chose you — you’re inside the answer instead of below it.
The links Google pulls into an overview get the same treatment, keeping your brand visible right where the summary lives.
This works in every language Google Search supports, wherever those AI features have rolled out. Since May 2026, one pick reaches both the classic blue-links world and the AI answer — no extra content to produce.
Who it’s for
If people already seek out your work, this gives them a fast way to tell Google to show them more of it. The common thread is loyalty — the button just makes that loyalty count where Google can see it.
- – News publishers defending their spot in Top Stories
- – Independent blogs whose regulars want them surfaced first
- – SaaS & startup founders building a content moat
- – Niche and trade sites aiming to be the default in a field
- – Newsletters and creators turning a list into search visibility
- – Reviews and magazines readers deliberately choose
Preferred sources — questions answered
What are preferred sources?
A Google Search setting that lets a reader name the sites they want to see more of. After someone picks you, your content is more likely to appear — and be labelled “preferred” — in their Top Stories, plus their AI Mode and AI Overviews results.
If someone picks me in Top Stories, does it affect the AI results too?
Yes. The preference carries across surfaces. A choice made in Top Stories also shapes that reader’s AI Mode and AI Overviews, and vice versa — one selection covers all of them.
Will adding this guarantee I show up?
No, and anyone promising that is overselling it. The button only makes it easy for your readers to choose you. Whether you appear still depends on them picking you and on Google’s own ranking.
Is my site eligible?
Eligibility is at the domain and subdomain level, so example.com or news.example.com qualify, but a subdirectory like example.com/blog does not. You can confirm by entering your site in Google’s source-preferences tool.
Why does the tool cut off everything after my domain?
Because Google matches at the domain level. The generator strips the path, any query strings, and the port so the link points exactly where Google expects.
Is it free? Do I need an account?
Completely free, no signup, no data collected. The generator runs entirely in your browser and outputs plain HTML you paste on your site. Build as many buttons as you want, for as many sites as you want.
Where should I put the button?
Next to your share buttons, in your header or footer, or inside an article near the byline — or use the floating variant for a persistent bottom-right button. You can also drop the direct link into a newsletter or social post.
Your readers are one tap from picking you
Becoming a preferred source comes down to making it effortless for the people who already trust you to say so. Generate your button above and paste it where they already spend time.
Readers have already chosen 345,000+ preferred sources (Search Engine Journal) — don’t get left behind. Then keep them coming back with real verified deals: browse SaaS deals →