Google has started emailing some site owners the number of people who selected their website as a Preferred Source in Google Search. The messages, reported on October 7, 2026, include a property-level figure labelled “Preferred source selections.” This gives publishers a new audience-loyalty signal, but the number is currently being shared by email rather than through a dedicated public report in Search Console.
What Google is reporting to publishers
According to Search Engine Watch, Google is sending emails that show how many users selected a particular site as a Preferred Source. The message includes the selection count and information about the Preferred Sources feature, along with recommendations for adding an interactive button to a publisher's website.
The metric should be described as Preferred Source selections—not newsletter subscriptions, paid subscribers or a count of people who necessarily visit the site regularly. It indicates that users have chosen the site as a preferred source within Google's Search experience.
Is there a Preferred Sources report in Search Console?
The reports cited so far describe the count as appearing in email. They do not confirm a dedicated, persistent Preferred Sources dashboard or report inside Google Search Console. Publishers should therefore avoid assuming that the figure can be checked at any time in the interface.
Search Engine Land and Search Engine Roundtable have also reported the emails. Their coverage describes Google asking site owners for feedback on whether Preferred Sources data should be available more regularly or directly inside Search Console. That suggests reporting options may evolve, but it is not confirmation that a dashboard has launched.
Why Preferred Source selections matter
Preferred Sources lets people signal which publications they want to see more often in Google Search. A selection count gives publishers an initial view of how many users have explicitly chosen their site through this feature.
For publishers, this is a useful loyalty indicator to watch alongside direct traffic, returning visitors, newsletter subscriptions and other audience measures. It is not interchangeable with those metrics: a Preferred Source selection does not, by itself, prove that a user visited a page, clicked a result or will return regularly.
What publishers can do now
- Check the email associated with the verified property. The initial reporting has been described as an email sent to site owners, and availability may not be universal.
- Record the date and count. Keep a simple log of any new figures so changes can be compared over time.
- Review the Preferred Sources button. Google’s message reportedly includes guidance on adding an interactive button to a publisher's pages.
- Keep the metric in context. Compare it with other audience measures, but do not treat it as a direct proxy for traffic or engagement.
- Watch for official reporting changes. A survey or request for feedback is not the same as a confirmed Search Console report.
What is confirmed—and what remains unknown?
- Reported: Google has emailed some site owners a Preferred Source selection count.
- Metric label: “Preferred source selections.”
- Reported date: October 7, 2026, with related coverage appearing on October 6.
- Not confirmed: a dedicated, persistent Preferred Sources dashboard in Search Console.
- Not established: that every verified site owner receives the email or that the figure updates on a fixed schedule.
- Not implied by the count: a matching number of visits, clicks, newsletter subscribers or recurring readers.
Frequently asked questions
What does “Preferred source selections” mean?
It is the count reported by Google for users who selected a website as a Preferred Source in Search. It is not the same as a newsletter subscriber count or a measure of page visits.
Where can site owners see the number?
Current reports describe the count as appearing in an email from Google. They do not confirm a dedicated, persistent report in Search Console.
Will the metric be added to Search Console?
Publishers have reportedly been asked for feedback on future reporting, but a Search Console dashboard has not been confirmed by the cited coverage.
Does being a Preferred Source guarantee more traffic?
No. The selection indicates a user's preference within Google Search, but the count alone does not establish clicks, visits or a specific traffic increase.
Should publishers add Google's Preferred Sources button?
Publishers can review Google's official guidance and decide whether the button fits their audience strategy. The reported email includes recommendations for adding an interactive button.
The takeaway
Google is giving some publishers a new count of Preferred Source selections through email, creating an early signal of audience preference within Search. The figure is useful, but it should not be confused with visits or subscribers. For now, the cited reports do not confirm a dedicated Search Console dashboard, so publishers should record the emails they receive and watch for official updates.
Sources
Search Engine Watch — Google tells site owners how many users selected them as Preferred Sources; Search Engine Land — Google shares Preferred Source follower data via email; Search Engine Roundtable — Google email tells how many Preferred Source selections.