Title: Publisher Reach CTA Toolkit for Google Preferred Sources Author: Matt Gibbs Published: August 27, 2026 Last modified: August 27, 2026 --- Search plugins ![](https://ps.w.org/publisher-reach/assets/banner-772x250.png?rev=3667963) ![](https://ps.w.org/publisher-reach/assets/icon-256x256.png?rev=3667963) # Publisher Reach CTA Toolkit for Google Preferred Sources By [Matt Gibbs](https://profiles.wordpress.org/mdotk/) [Download](https://downloads.wordpress.org/plugin/publisher-reach.1.0.0.zip) * [Details](https://wordpress.org/plugins/publisher-reach/#description) * [Reviews](https://wordpress.org/plugins/publisher-reach/#reviews) * [Installation](https://wordpress.org/plugins/publisher-reach/#installation) * [Development](https://wordpress.org/plugins/publisher-reach/#developers) [Support](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/publisher-reach/) ## Description Publisher Reach helps WordPress publishers add polished Google Preferred Sources invitations without hand-coding the integration or restyling every placement. Choose Google’s official localized badge or create a branded CTA with editable text, a site logo, theme-aware colors, and responsive layouts. Publish it with the block, shortcode, automatic article placement, or an optional floating prompt. The complete plugin is free. There is no Publisher Reach account, API key, paid plan, telemetry, or artificial feature limit. #### Get your first button live 1. Install and activate Publisher Reach. 2. Open **Settings > Publisher Reach** and confirm the publication hostname. 3. Choose the Google flow and your official badge or custom CTA design. 4. Add the block to a post, or enable automatic placement. 5. Save and verify the button on the public page. #### What you can publish * Google’s official Preferred Sources badges in 17 supplied languages. * Light, dark, automatic color-scheme, and Retina badge variants. * Editable accessible label, heading, and supporting text. * WordPress Site Logo, a Media Library image, or no logo. * Theme-derived colors or seven custom color controls with contrast warnings. * Minimal button, compact card, and callout presets with alignment, radius, shadow, and mobile-width controls. * A Gutenberg block, safe shortcode, automatic before/after placement, and an optional floating prompt. * Per-entry suppression and per-block design overrides. * Multisite-safe, per-site settings and optional data removal on uninstall. #### Choose how Google opens * **Selected design + Google flow (recommended):** keeps the official badge or custom CTA you configured and progressively enhances it with Google’s flow. * **Google native button:** Google renders and localizes the interface and controls its appearance. * **Direct link:** uses a normal Google preferences link and makes no Google request before a reader clicks. One integration mode applies across the document. The selected-design and native modes request Google’s library when the first Publisher Reach surface renders. Direct- link mode is the privacy-first choice when no pre-click Google request is wanted. See **External Services** before enabling a mode. #### Block and shortcode Add the **Preferred Source Button** block, or use: ``` [publisher_reach] ``` Optional attributes are `label`, `heading`, `body`, `preset`, `align`, `theme`, ` lang`, `design`, `badge_theme`, `icon`, and `mobile_full`. They inherit the global settings unless overridden. URLs, HTML, CSS, and executable code are rejected. Example: ``` [publisher_reach heading="Make us a preferred source" body="See more from our newsroom in Google Search." align="center" design="google_badge" badge_theme="auto" preset="compact"] ``` #### Important boundaries Publisher Reach does not register or approve a site or confirm that a reader completed Google’s flow. It cannot guarantee selection, visibility, placement, traffic, or rankings. Google controls eligibility and the Preferred Sources service. Only domains and subdomains are eligible; a subdirectory such as `example.com/news` is not a separate source. Publisher Reach is independent and is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by Google. Google marks belong to Google LLC. #### Privacy Publisher Reach has no telemetry, advertising, or author connection. Settings stay in WordPress. The optional prompt stores only a session flag or local timestamp in the visitor’s browser; it is not analytics. See `PRIVACY.txt`, `THIRD_PARTY_NOTICES. txt`, and **External Services** below. ### External Services Publisher Reach can connect visitors to Google’s Preferred Sources service. Google controls that service, including its availability, eligibility decisions, interface, completion state, and results. In the selected-design and native modes, Publisher Reach requests Google’s Preferred Sources library from: ``` https://news.google.com/swg/js/v1/publisher.js ``` It is requested only after the first non-direct-link Publisher Reach surface renders. Google may process ordinary request data such as IP address, browser, referrer, and publication domain under its policies. In direct-link mode, Publisher Reach creates a local link in this form: ``` https://www.google.com/preferences/source?q=example.com ``` Google is contacted only after the visitor follows that link. Service documentation: https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/preferred- sources Google Terms of Service: https://policies.google.com/terms Google Privacy Policy: https://policies.google.com/privacy Publisher Reach does not send telemetry, site configuration, or visitor analytics to the plugin authors. ### Development Human-readable source is under `src/`. Run `npm ci && npm run build` with a supported Node.js version to reproduce generated assets from `scripts/build-assets.mjs` and` package-lock.json`. Google’s unmodified Preferred Sources badge images and their source/licence record are under `resources/`; no third-party runtime code, font, or copied Google JavaScript is bundled. ## Screenshots [⌊Publish an official Preferred Sources invitation inside an article with editable publisher copy.⌉⌊Publish an official Preferred Sources invitation inside an article with editable publisher copy.⌉[ Publish an official Preferred Sources invitation inside an article with editable publisher copy. [⌊Choose the official badge or custom CTA and review changes in the live Desktop/ Mobile preview.⌉⌊Choose the official badge or custom CTA and review changes in the live Desktop/Mobile preview.⌉[ Choose the official badge or custom CTA and review changes in the live Desktop/Mobile preview. [⌊Add the Preferred Source Button block and adjust its design, badge, preset, and copy in the editor.⌉⌊Add the Preferred Source Button block and adjust its design, badge, preset, and copy in the editor.⌉[ Add the Preferred Source Button block and adjust its design, badge, preset, and copy in the editor. [⌊Keep the official badge compact, readable, and overflow-free on mobile articles.⌉⌊ Keep the official badge compact, readable, and overflow-free on mobile articles.⌉[ Keep the official badge compact, readable, and overflow-free on mobile articles. ## Blocks This plugin provides 1 block. * Preferred Source Button Invite readers to add this site as a preferred source on Google. ## Installation 1. In WordPress, open **Plugins > Add New Plugin** and install Publisher Reach. 2. Activate **Publisher Reach CTA Toolkit for Google Preferred Sources**. 3. Open **Settings > Publisher Reach**. 4. Confirm the hostname, choose a Google flow and design, then save. 5. Add the block or enable automatic placement and verify the public result. A working button does not prove eligibility or selection. Check Google’s source preferences tool separately. ## FAQ ### Does Publisher Reach make my site eligible for Preferred Sources? No. Google controls eligibility. Only domains and subdomains are eligible, not subdirectories. ### Does it guarantee Google rankings or traffic? No. Publisher Reach cannot guarantee selection, visibility, placement, traffic, or rankings. ### When does a visitor’s browser contact Google? The selected-design and native modes request Google’s script where a CTA renders. The direct-link mode makes no pre-click Google request; Google is contacted only after the visitor follows the link. ### What does the direct link contain? It contains only the validated WordPress Home URL hostname as Google’s `q` value, never a post path, shortcode URL, HTML, or visitor data. ### Does the plugin track visitors? No author telemetry is sent. Prompt dismissal stays in browser local or session storage. Google may process ordinary request data when its service or link is used. ### What should I know about Content Security Policy? The selected-design and native modes require Google’s script and interface. Publisher Reach never weakens Content Security Policy. Direct-link mode needs no external script or iframe. ### What should I know about multisite? Settings are per site. Network activation does not establish eligibility, and subdirectory paths are not separate source identities. ### What happens if my theme has no Site Logo or Global Styles colors? Missing logos are omitted. Theme mode inherits the surrounding article when no usable Global Styles palette exists. Custom logos and fixed colors remain available in ** Design**. ### Can I use Google’s official Preferred Sources badge? Yes. Choose **Official Google badge** in **Design**. Publisher Reach includes Google’s supplied light, dark, localized, and Retina artwork. Editable publisher copy and logos remain visually separate from the unmodified badge. ### What happens on uninstall? With **Delete data on uninstall** enabled (the default), uninstall removes only Publisher Reach settings and suppression metadata, never posts. Browser-stored prompt dismissals cannot be cleared server-side. ## Reviews There are no reviews for this plugin. ## Contributors & Developers “Publisher Reach CTA Toolkit for Google Preferred Sources” is open source software. The following people have contributed to this plugin. Contributors * [ Matt Gibbs ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/mdotk/) [Translate “Publisher Reach CTA Toolkit for Google Preferred Sources” into your language.](https://translate.wordpress.org/projects/wp-plugins/publisher-reach) ### Interested in development? [Browse the code](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/publisher-reach/), check out the [SVN repository](https://plugins.svn.wordpress.org/publisher-reach/), or subscribe to the [development log](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/log/publisher-reach/) by [RSS](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/log/publisher-reach/?limit=100&mode=stop_on_copy&format=rss). ## Changelog #### 1.0.0 * Add selected-design, Google-native, and privacy-first direct-link flows. * Add block, shortcode, automatic article placement, and optional floating prompt. * Add editable copy, logos, official badges, theme-aware colors, custom colors, responsive presets, and live Desktop/Mobile previews. * Add accessibility, multisite-safe settings, privacy controls, safe migrations, reproducible assets, and deterministic packaging. ## Meta * Version **1.0.0** * Last updated **1 day ago** * Active installations **Fewer than 10** * WordPress version ** 6.8 or higher ** * Tested up to **7.1** * PHP version ** 7.4 or higher ** * Tags * [call to action](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/call-to-action/)[google search](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/google-search/) [Gutenberg block](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/gutenberg-block/)[preferred sources](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/preferred-sources/) [publisher tools](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/publisher-tools/) * [Advanced View](https://wordpress.org/plugins/publisher-reach/advanced/) ## Ratings No reviews have been submitted yet. [Your review](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/publisher-reach/reviews/#new-post) [See all reviews](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/publisher-reach/reviews/) ## Contributors * [ Matt Gibbs ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/mdotk/) ## Support Got something to say? Need help? [View support forum](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/publisher-reach/)