An analysis from Discover tracking tool DiscoverSnoop adds to the post-update data available on Google’s Discover core update, confirming some patterns identified in earlier NewzDash analysis while contradicting others.
The DiscoverSnoop report compared article counts and audience scores for publishers in the week before the update began (January 26 to February 1) against the week after it completed (March 2 to March 8). That post-completion window differs from NewzDash’s earlier scorecard, which measured a mid-rollout window.
For transparency, DiscoverSnoop is a commercial Discover analytics platform. The report is based on its own tracking data.
Who Lost Visibility
Some publishers lost more than 20% of their article placements in the Discover feed while also seeing audience scores decline.
Yahoo lost nearly half its article placements and saw its audience score drop 62%, falling from third to ninth in DiscoverSnoop’s rankings. The report noted that Yahoo’s Discover decline began in September, and the core update accelerated it.
Fox News, Fox Business, and Fox Weather all saw visibility drop more than 40%. Forbes lost 21% of its article placements and 67% of its audience score. Both Fox and Forbes had been declining before the update, according to the report.
X/Twitter saw a 22% drop in article placements and a 32% audience decline. That contrasts with NewzDash’s earlier data, which showed X.com posts from institutional accounts climbing in Discover’s top 100 during the mid-rollout period. The different measurement windows may account for the gap.
Local Publishers Lost National Reach
One of the report’s more useful findings involves local publishers. Syracuse.com lost 36% of its article placements and 80% of its audience score overall.
But when DiscoverSnoop broke that down by state, the New York audience held relatively steady. The losses came from out-of-state feeds in Florida and California. The same pattern appeared for cbs6albany.com.
Google said the update would show “more locally relevant content from websites based in their country.” DiscoverSnoop’s state-level data suggests the update went further than adding local content to feeds. It appears to have reduced those publishers’ visibility outside their home region.
This aligns with NewzDash data from our earlier coverage, which found New York-local domains appearing roughly five times more often in the New York feed than in the California feed.
DiscoverSnoop’s analysis adds the other side of that finding. In its post-completion window, DiscoverSnoop suggests the national visibility those local publishers previously had dropped sharply.
YouTube placements grew 15% in the post-update window, from 16,283 to 18,803. The report notes that Google’s own properties rarely suffer in core updates.
Where The Data Conflicts
DiscoverSnoop names Geediting.com as one of the biggest reported winners in its post-update window, with article placements up 531% and audience score up 900%.
DiscoverSnoop observed that more than 75% of Geediting’s article titles begin with “Psychology says.” The report called this an unexpected outcome for a site that doesn’t fit the E-E-A-T profile Google’s update was designed to reward.
NewzDash’s data showed, in its mid-rollout measurement window, that a Geediting listicle ranking roughly #14 in the pre-update feed dropped to roughly #153.
Again, a likely explanation is timing. Geediting may have declined mid-rollout and then surged after completion, or the two tools may be capturing different aspects of Discover distribution.
Either way, when two commercial Discover trackers disagree on which sites gained the most, it reinforces what both vendors have acknowledged. Post-update data from any single source should be treated as directional rather than definitive.
Parade.com also appeared as a winner in DiscoverSnoop’s data, with article placements up 208% and audience scores up 1,300%. Axios and Fortune showed gains, along with Newsweek and the Wall Street Journal.
Why This Matters
If you publish local or regional content and noticed Discover traffic dropping after the update, check whether the drop is concentrated outside your home market. The Syracuse.com pattern suggests some publishers didn’t lose Discover visibility so much as they lost Discover visibility in states they weren’t targeting.
If you’re benchmarking against third-party reports, check which measurement window each vendor used. A tool measuring mid-rollout may show different results than one measuring post-completion.
Looking Ahead
Google hasn’t said whether Discover will continue to get its own core updates. The February update is still limited to English-language users in the United States, with expansion to more countries and languages planned but not scheduled.
Featured Image: Stockinq/Shutterstock
