How to Add WIRED as a Preferred Source on Google (2025)

As you are probably Noticed, Google has become … weird lately. Stranger? It can be difficult to find the search results you are looking for. Between AI summaries and algorithm changes, which causes unexpected sources, it can be difficult to sail in the most popular search engine in the world. (And publishers also feel tension.)

Earlier this year, Google has updated its algorithm. It’s nothing new – Google updates its algorithms hundreds of times a year, with two major “basic updates” that cause significant changes. And although it is difficult to determine exactly what has changed, the publishers and large and small websites have noticed significant traffic drops and lower search rankings, even for the content that had previously worked well. “Google Zero” (as Nilay Patel du Verge first called it) is supposed to be caused, at least in part, by IA previews.

Google Search showed a slow ramp towards this for a few years, but the most recent blow was delivered during the summer. When you are looking for something and you get a little careful summary of various reports completed by journalists, you are less likely to visit the websites that have really done the job. And, in some cases, this summary contains incorrect AI hallucinations or reports from websites you may not trust. It is difficult to say if the next basic update will make your search results show what you expect, but in the meantime, there is an adjustment that can help it feel more suitable for your preferences.

Get control of your Google search results with the new Google tool “favorite sources”. This can help you see more hugs, from our coverage of rigorous and obsessive criticisms to important stories on our political office for the “What to watch” roundups of our cultural team. (And, yes, it works for other publishers you know and with confidence too.)

The favorite sources are priority in the search results of the best stories, and you will also get a section dedicated to your sources section on certain search results pages.

To define Wired as a favorite source, you can click on this link and check the box to the right. You can also search for additional sources that you prefer on this page and check the respective boxes to make sure they are priority in your Google research.

Google via Louryn Stramp