Discover shows content to users based on their interests, without a query. Traffic arrives in bursts and is far less predictable than Search.
Eligibility
Pages are eligible automatically if they are indexed and meet Google content policies. There is no submission mechanism.
What helps
- Large, high-quality images, at least 1200px wide, enabled with
max-image-preview:large. - Compelling but non-clickbait titles. Exaggeration is explicitly penalised here.
- Timely, interesting content with clear provenance.
- Fast mobile pages.
Reality check
Discover traffic is volatile by design. A page can bring substantial traffic for two days and nothing afterwards. It is not a channel to plan revenue against.
Alien Road recommends: add max-image-preview:large if you publish editorial content, it is a one-line change and it is the single prerequisite most sites miss. But treat any Discover traffic as a bonus in the forecast, never as a baseline.