Confirm your site qualifies.
The built-in eligibility checker validates your setup and warns about subdirectories, localhost and staging addresses that Google cannot recognise as eligible sources.
Open source · Free
Add as a Preferred Source for Google
Check eligibility, generate Add as Preferred Source for Google button code for seven platforms or install the free WordPress plugin.
Start with your site
Check eligibility first.
Start with your domain, then choose the checker, generator, Chrome extension or WordPress source for the job in front of you.
How it works
Check. Place. Measure.
Three steps from activation to a button that earns opt-ins, with every claim on the analytics screen measured, not modelled.
Put the button where readers act.
Block, shortcode, widget, floating banner or auto-placement, or let smart placement rotate five positions and learn.
Compare impressions, clicks and click-through rate.
Impressions, clicks and CTR per position, plus a GA4 event. Labelled clicks throughout, because Google reports no completions.
The button, popup and deeplink all use only the surface documented in Google's official Preferred Sources documentation.
See the complete suite
Three tools, one route from eligibility to live code.
These are genuine screens from the browser-based eligibility checker, multi-platform button generator and WordPress plugin. Select an image to inspect it at full size.
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View larger ↗ What's in the plugin
Choose where the button appears and track how readers use it.
Use a block, shortcode, widget, floating banner or automatic placement for the Google Preferred Sources button & popup. Compare impressions, clicks and click-through rate for every tested position.
01
Smart placement
Test five automatic button positions.
Smart placement rotates five content-aware positions, from after your opening insight to the end of the post, and records aggregate impressions and clicks for each. Once a position proves itself, it's served 90% of the time while the remaining 10% keeps testing the field.
- Learning uses aggregate counts only, never reader profiles.
- Positions are content-aware, so the button lands beside real paragraphs, not in gaps.
- Turn it off any time and pin one position manually.
- 1After first insightTesting
- 2Mid-articleTesting
- ★End of postWinner · 90%
- 4Quiet footer linkTesting
- 5Floating bannerTesting
02
Every placement route
Block, shortcodes, widget, banner.
Use the Gutenberg block, the [opace_preferred_source],
[opace_preferred_source_button] or [opsrc_button] shortcodes, a
widget, a floating banner or automatic in-content placement.
- Works in classic and block themes, page builders included via shortcode.
- A Help & shortcodes screen documents every route inside wp-admin.
03
CRO triggers
Show the prompt after scrolling, on a timer or on exit.
Show the prompt on scroll depth, after a time delay, on exit intent or to returning visitors, and suppress it automatically once a reader has clicked.
- Triggers combine, so you can ask engaged readers only.
- Post-click suppression stops the plugin nagging people who already acted.
04
Honest analytics
Impressions, clicks and CTR. That's all.
Per-position Google Preferred Sources analytics and an optional GA4 event per click. Google's SDK has no completion callback, so every figure is labelled as clicks, never conversions.
- No invented "preferred source counts" anywhere in the interface.
- Counts are aggregate; no reader-level tracking is stored.
05
Eligibility and consent
Check eligibility and load Google only after consent.
The built-in checker warns when a site can't qualify (subdirectories), and GDPR two-click mode makes the first request to Google happen only after the reader's explicit click.
- Automatic deeplink fallback keeps the button working when scripts are blocked.
06
Built for networks
Multisite defaults and white-label.
Network administrators set defaults once across a multisite install, and a white-label filter lets agencies present the admin screens under their own name.
NETNetwork defaultsConfigure once, apply across every site in the network WLWhite-label filterRename the admin screens for client-facing installs ✓Plugin CheckPasses the official WordPress Plugin Check with zero errors GPLOpen licenceGPLv2 or later, with the full source public on GitHub
What the reports measure
Reports show impressions, clicks and click-through rate.
Each figure is labelled by what the plugin can measure directly.
- 01No completion data exists. Google's SDK reports nothing back when a reader finishes the flow, so the plugin counts clicks and says so on every screen.
- 02Documented API only. The button, popup and deeplink use Google's published surface. Nothing proprietary, nothing undocumented.
- 03Aggregate counts only. Smart placement learns from totals per position, not from profiles of individual readers.
- 04Consent before contact. Two-click mode delays any request to Google until the reader explicitly acts.
- 05Fails safely. When Google's script is blocked, readers get the documented deeplink instead of a dead button.
- 06No ranking promises. Preferred Sources is per-reader personalisation. The plugin helps you ask for the opt-in; it claims nothing more.
Open source · GPLv2 or later
Google Preferred Sources WordPress plugin: v1.1.4 source on GitHub
The whole suite in one install: the official Google Preferred Sources button & popup, a Gutenberg block, three shortcodes, a floating banner, smart placement, CRO triggers and honest click analytics. The source, documentation and version history are public on GitHub. Requires WordPress 6.2+ and PHP 7.4+.
WordPress installation
01 Download or build v1.1.4 from the GitHub repository
02 Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin
03 Activate, then open Settings → Preferred Source
04 Run the built-in eligibility check
05 Pick a placement, or turn on Smart placement
06 Watch clicks arrive in AnalyticsQuestions before installing
Placement, privacy and setup.
What does the plugin actually add to my site?
The official Add as Preferred Source for Google popup button, rendered by Google's own publisher.js script. When a reader clicks it, Google's popup opens on your page and they can add your site as a preferred source in a couple of clicks. If the script is blocked, the plugin automatically falls back to the documented deeplink to Google's preferences page, so the button never dead-ends.
Where can I place the button?
Anywhere: a Gutenberg block, three shortcodes ([opace_preferred_source], [opace_preferred_source_button] and [opsrc_button]), a widget, a floating banner, or automatic placement inside your content. Smart placement can also choose the position for you.
What is Smart placement?
An optional mode that rotates five content-aware positions, learns from aggregate click statistics, and then serves the best performer 90% of the time while still testing alternatives with the other 10%. It uses counts, not personal data.
Can it tell me how many readers actually became preferred sources?
No, and neither can anything else: Google's SDK provides no completion callback. The plugin measures impressions, clicks and CTR, and can send a GA4 event per click, and everything in the interface is labelled as clicks, never conversions.
Is my site eligible for Preferred Sources?
Domains and subdomains qualify; subdirectories don't. The plugin includes an eligibility checker that warns about subdirectory, localhost and staging setups, and our free online checker explains the published domain rules before you install anything.
How does the GDPR two-click mode work?
With two-click mode on, no request is made to Google when the page loads. The reader sees a neutral first button; only after they click it does the plugin load Google's script and show the real popup button, so the Google request happens on explicit interaction.
Does it work on multisite?
Yes. Network administrators can set defaults across the network, and a white-label filter lets agencies rename the admin screens for clients.
Is the Preferred Source Checker Chrome extension available?
Yes. Version 1.0.1 of the Preferred Sources Chrome extension is published publicly in the Chrome Web Store. It audits eligibility, publisher SDK loading, button setup and fallback links on the page you are viewing. Its source remains public on GitHub.
Does the button improve my rankings?
No. Preferred Sources is per-reader personalisation, not a ranking signal. Readers who prefer your site see more of it in Top Stories, Discover and AI Overviews, and Google reports they click through roughly twice as often. The plugin's job is making that opt-in easy to ask for.
Created by Opace Digital Agency
Need help with WordPress or visibility?
Opace builds and supports practical WordPress and SEO systems from Birmingham for organisations across the UK and internationally. This plugin comes from that client work.
WordPress block, shortcode, widget and banner
Add as Preferred Source for Google, then measure impressions, clicks and click-through rate.
See the live route Add Opace as a preferred source in Google. This documented deeplink opens Google's preferences page with opace.agency filled in. Open Google Preferred Sources ↗ Before you install Check your domain is the right shape for Preferred Sources. Ten seconds, in your browser, with Google's own tool for the final word. Open the eligibility checker → Not on WordPress? Generate the button code for any platform instead. Copy-paste snippets for plain HTML, Elementor, Webflow, Shopify, Astro and React. Open the button generator →
Browse all Opace tools Related open-source projects: WordPress plugin, framework packages and the Chrome Site Checker with source on GitHub. Browse every Opace project on the Opace GitHub hub.
This plugin is independently developed by Opace Digital Agency and is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by Google. Google and the Google logo are trademarks of Google LLC. Licensed under GPLv2 or later.