Introducing DiscoverGap
Why I built DiscoverGap, what it does with your Search Console figures, and what it will never promise you.
If you publish news or run a content site, you know the feeling. Discover sends you a few thousand clicks on Monday, almost nothing on Thursday, and Search Console shows you the line going down without a word about why.
I run news and content sites myself, and that gap between "what happened" and "why it happened" is where most of my time went. Export the Discover report, line it up against the pages report, check Google's status dashboard, open the articles one by one to look at the images and headlines. Every week, by hand. DiscoverGap is that routine, done properly and every day.
What it does
You connect Search Console with read-only access and pick your site. DiscoverGap imports 16 months of your Discover, Google News and Search figures, keeps them updated daily, and turns them into a few clear answers:
- Your Discover status. One of four: not in Discover yet, shown but rarely clicked, getting traffic, or up and down. Each comes with the figures behind it.
- Why Discover changed. When traffic moves outside its normal range, you see which articles, which countries and what Google was doing that week.
- Articles to revisit. Older articles that brought Discover traffic for weeks and then faded, with a check of each page.
- A 30-day plan. Four weeks of specific tasks for your site, each one tied to the figures it came from.
- Search opportunities, keyword ideas and competitors. Searches you almost rank for, what others rank for and you don't, and who sits above you.
Agencies get client reports with their own name on them and a private link the client can open without an account.
What it won't do
It won't promise you traffic. Discover is personalised and Google decides what it shows. Anyone who guarantees Discover traffic is selling something they can't control. What DiscoverGap can do is show you, accurately, what is happening on your site and what is worth trying next. Every figure in it can be checked against Search Console with the same dates, and the help center explains exactly how.
Where to start
Sign in with Google, and a short setup asks what you want most, connects Search Console and picks your site. Your first report is usually ready within the hour. If something looks wrong or you'd like a feature, the feedback form comes straight to me.
Anshul