Case Study: How 2 Newsrooms Unlocked Discover Without AMP

Goals and constraints

We were engaged to unlock Google Discover as a scalable acquisition channel for two Ukrainian news publishers. We started in August 2024 with two different baselines: First site had zero Discover presence, while secound site had steady but underperforming Discover traffic. The mandate was clear - fix the fundamentals, build an editorial system optimized for Discover, and scale daily clicks without sacrificing content quality or site stability.

Key constraints included accumulated technical debt, lack of consistent content standards, and highly dynamic news cycles where timing and trend selection determine most of the distribution. We also needed to maintain site speed and editorial velocity while removing AMP and restructuring templates - a non-trivial set of tradeoffs for any newsroom.

Introduction

This case study shows how a combined technical and editorial approach can unlock millions of impressions and turn Google Discover into a reliable source of incremental traffic for news portals. For the first site, we started from zero and built Discover traffic into the primary source of visits. For the secound site, we more than doubled daily peak clicks and improved CTR by aligning content, structure, and on-page signals to Discover's quality and relevance criteria

Our work focused on three pillars: resolving technical blockers to ensure full indexation and fast user experience, operationalizing a newsroom-ready content playbook tuned to Discover, and adding UX improvements that lift engagement and reinforce E-E-A-T signals. The outcome: sharper trend coverage, higher click-through rates, and stable visibility gains that compound over time.

Client context

Both publishers came to us with similar core challenges but different starting positions in Discover.

Shared starting issues

• Technical debt that impaired crawl and indexation - slow page loads, duplicate URLs, 404s, and redirect chains.
• Inconsistent article structure - missing H2s, sparse use of lists and quotes, and uneven formatting across authors.
• Limited trend alignment - minimal use of Google Trends to prioritize topics that Discover algorithms elevate.

Different Discover baselines

• First site - no Discover traffic. The task was to break into the recommendations feed from scratch.

• Secound site - a modest Discover footprint below potential. The task was to scale and stabilize.

We staged the work to limit newsroom disruption, starting in August 2024 with technical remediation and accelerated content standardization, then layering in continuous optimization as early signals improved.

Strategy

We divided the program into three coordinated tracks so that technical fixes, editorial changes, and engagement improvements could reinforce each other.

1) Technical remediation to clear growth bottlenecks

• Speed and Core Web Vitals - compress images, defer non-critical JS, optimize fonts, and reduce CLS from ad and widget shifts.
• Remove AMP - consolidate to a single fast template to simplify maintenance and avoid split signals.
• Fix 404s and redirect chains - normalize URL patterns and ensure clean canonicalization to eliminate duplicates.
• Improve crawl paths - rationalize categories and internal linking for consistent discovery of fresh content.

2) Content system tailored to Discover

• Structure standards - required H2 subheads, bullets, and quotes to improve clarity and satisfy Discover-quality checks.
• Trend integration - systematic use of Google Trends to prioritize surging topics and related angles.
• Quality lift - improve originality and expertise signals across authors and beats.

3) UX and engagement enhancements

To reinforce behavioral metrics that Discover algorithms reward, we designed lightweight interaction patterns. One example was a dedicated reviews block for radio pages. These elements were chosen to increase dwell time, recirculation, and perceived usefulness without sacrificing speed.

Execution

We executed in sprints, validating improvements against Discover performance indicators and newsroom feasibility.

Technical delivery

• Page speed - optimized media delivery, inlined critical CSS, reduced render-blocking resources, and standardized third-party scripts to limit variability across templates.
• AMP removal - implemented canonical consolidation and parity checks so post-AMP templates matched and exceeded AMP performance.
• URL hygiene - enforced consistent trailing slash rules, collapsed parameterized duplicates, and corrected legacy redirects.
• Indexation - audit-based removals of thin or orphaned pages, curated sitemaps for fresh content, and explicit canonicals for variant articles.

Editorial and Discover optimization

• Headline frameworks - balanced curiosity and clarity, avoided clickbait, and aligned with trending queries surfaced in Trends.
• Primary image discipline - large, high-quality, rights-cleared images that display prominently in Discover and reinforce intent.
• Structure and readability - consistent H2 scaffolding, bullets for context blocks, and pull quotes to elevate key facts.
• Coverage cadence - planned publishing windows around trend peaks and optimized refreshes for evolving stories.
• E-E-A-T cues - strengthened author pages, bylines, and source citations where applicable.

Engagement and UX

• Interactive modules - deployed review components and contextual recirculation to relevant articles.
• Ad stability - reduced layout shifts from ad slots to keep CLS low and preserve reading flow.
• Mobile-first ergonomics - thumb-friendly nav, predictable pagination, and unobtrusive prompts to continue reading.

Throughout, we instrumented the newsroom with lightweight feedback loops so editors could see which topics, headlines, and formats were consistently elevated by Discover and adjust in near real time.

Results

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The combined effect of the technical, editorial, and UX work was clear within weeks of launch. Both sites saw material uplifts in Discover visibility, with bigkyiv.com.ua demonstrating a sharp increase in daily peaks and radioclub.ua establishing Discover as a primary traffic source from a standing start.

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Radioclub.ua: building traffic from scratch

The key achievement of the project was generating traffic from Google Discover, a channel that was completely absent before the work began.

• Start: 0 clicks before August 2024.
• One year result: 6 million clicks and 56.3 million impressions.
• Average CTR: 2%.

Creating a new, strong and most importantly primary traffic source for the website from scratch is a clear example of the success of a well structured strategy.

bigkyiv.com.ua - strategic scaling

• Pre-optimization, average daily Discover clicks were 2,700-2,800.
• After implementing the initial recommendations, on October 11 the site reached a peak of 5,897 clicks in a single day - more than 2x the prior daily average.
• CTR increased alongside clicks, indicating more relevant topics, headlines, and imagery for the audience.

The October peak was not a one-off anomaly. It followed weeks of steady improvements that showed up both in month-over-month comparisons and longer-term trend lines.

radioclub.ua - from zero to primary channel

• Started with zero Discover traffic.
• Post-optimization, Discover became the primary source of visits for the site.
• The shift was driven by trend-aligned coverage, improved article structure, and stronger E-E-A-T signals coupled with faster load times.

While we are not disclosing specific click counts for radioclub.ua, the directional change was unambiguous in analytics - Discover rose from non-existent to the top acquisition source, validating that the foundational approach works even for publishers without prior Discover traction.

What changed and why it worked

• Problem - crawl inefficiencies and slow pages suppressed visibility in Discover. Hypothesis - removing technical friction will let high-quality news pieces be discovered and ranked more consistently. Action - fix Core Web Vitals, remove AMP, canonicalize duplicates, and clean error states. Outcome - faster, cleaner templates and better indexation created a stable base for editorial gains.
• Problem - inconsistent article structure made content harder to parse and less likely to earn clicks. Hypothesis - standardized H2s, bullets, and quotes improve clarity and eligibility for Discover. Action - newsroom-wide content standards and QA. Outcome - higher CTR and more predictable Discover inclusion.
• Problem - coverage did not consistently align with rising topics. Hypothesis - systematic Google Trends integration will lift reach. Action - a trends playbook with daily prioritization and headline frameworks. Outcome - more stories surfaced in Discover, delivering a step-change in daily clicks.
• Problem - engagement signals did not reinforce quality. Hypothesis - light UX enhancements would boost dwell time and recirculation without hurting speed. Action - deploy interactive reviews block and stabilize layout around ads. Outcome - improved behavioral metrics that support Discover performance.
• Problem - Discover performance can be volatile for news. Hypothesis - continuous measurement and editorial feedback loops will reduce variance. Action - weekly reviews of topic performance, headline tests, and publishing windows. Outcome - steadier month-over-month growth and faster recovery from dips.

Lessons and next steps

This engagement reinforced several principles for scaling Google Discover traffic in news environments.

Lessons

• Technical debt silently taxes distribution - fixing it unlocks editorial wins. Removing AMP while boosting speed simplified operations and improved consistency.
• Discover rewards clarity, not gimmicks - structured articles with clear hierarchy and strong primary images outperform thin, over-optimized pieces.
• Trends discipline beats ad hoc coverage - routine topic selection via Google Trends drives more predictable inclusion and CTR lifts.
• Small UX lifts compound - stable layouts, relevant recirculation, and light interactivity boost engagement without hurting speed.
• Operate a feedback loop - weekly analytics to inform beats, headlines, and timing reduce volatility and build institutional intuition.

Next steps

• Extend structured data coverage and author profiles to strengthen E-E-A-T signals.
• Broaden editorial templates for explainers and evergreen pieces that Discover often surfaces during recurring news cycles.
• Deeper headline and image testing protocols, including variant banks per beat.
• Fine-tune recirculation algorithms to keep readers in-topic longer without click fatigue.
• Continue monthly technical hygiene sprints to prevent drift in Core Web Vitals and URL hygiene.

By anchoring Discover growth in clean technical foundations, pragmatic newsroom standards, and ongoing analytics, we turned a volatile channel into a scalable acquisition engine. The same framework is portable to other publishers - start by clearing crawl friction, then institutionalize trend-first coverage and consistent presentation. The results compound fast when all three pillars move in step.