Drupal site owners can now add Google's new Preferred Source badge without hand-coding it ⇾ here's how.

Google introduced Preferred Sources, a feature that lets readers mark specific websites as sources they want to see more of in Search and Discover. Google provides an official badge for this. A button that says "Add [Site] as a preferred source on Google", and any site can embed it. We, ACOLONO GmbH, built a Drupal module, so Drupal site owners don't have to hand-code it.

Preferred Sources is a Google Search feature that lets readers follow specific sites for more results from them.

What the Preferred Source badge does

A reader who clicks the badge tells Google's systems they want more results from that site in future Search and Discover results. It's a personal preference tied to that reader's account, not a site-wide switch. Google covers the mechanics in its blog post on Preferred Sources (Google blog: Preferred Sources, General article about personalization) and documents the badge and eligibility rules in its Search Central developer docs.

Why add the button to your site

Google hasn't stated that preferred-source opt-ins directly change how a site ranks. What it has confirmed is narrower: an opt-in shapes what that specific reader sees more of afterward. It's closer to a subscribe button than a ranking lever.

Still worth adding, though: it's a free, one-click way to turn a casual reader into a repeat one. For a content-heavy site, more readers coming back more often is a reasonable goal on its own, independent of any ranking effect.

//Built to be preferred.

Our Drupal module: preferred_source_google

preferred_source_google is a free, open-source Drupal module, published on drupal.org/project/preferred_source_google. It adds Google's official badge in two ways:

• A block, placeable in any region, any number of times, in either display version.
• A field formatter for boolean fields, so editors can add a "show badge" checkbox to any content type.

Each placement lets you pick one of two styles: Google's official badge image, or a plain text link. The module reads the site's own domain automatically, so there's nothing else to configure.

Installation is a standard Composer flow:

composer require drupal/preferred_source_google

drush en preferred_source_google

Full configuration steps are in the module's README on the project page.

Check eligibility first

Not every domain qualifies yet. Google lists current eligibility at google.com/preferences/source. Check your domain before placing the badge. It does nothing for a visitor if your domain isn't eligible yet.

This isn't theoretical. Austrian outlets like derStandard.at and futurezone.at already run the Preferred Source badge on their sites, so the feature itself is live and working, not a Google announcement still waiting for adoption.

What this means for your team

Effort-wise, this is about as small as a task gets: enable the module, decide where the badge should appear. A block in the article footer, say, or a field on the article content type and you're done. No performance cost worth mentioning either, since it's a static badge, not a tracking script. The only real risk is expectation management: if your domain isn't eligible yet, don't promise stakeholders a ranking boost the badge doesn't deliver.