How Google Discover Affects Search And SEO

Google has recently made a major update with their new Google Discover search model launched at the end of September.
Last year their feed update, which displayed more relevant content without the need to enter a search query, was successfully tested with a reported over 800 million users taking advantage of the new feature. This has led to their “three fundamental shifts” that not only has a new name, but more intuitive features.
The advent of social media and voice search has prompted a more precise and user-friendly approach to search queries. Google’s initial response were several updates to their algorithm in order to focus on what matters most to people.
What this meant for search queries is that users were still be able to enter terms the same way, but with entire phrases and longer questions that could be answered with the help of Google’s own encyclopedia called, Google Knowledge Graph. Now we don’t even have to type anything in order to get the information that we are looking for.
From an SEO standpoint the new feature will not cause any major changes to strategy, as original and fresh content still play a major role. Google will still be able to improve search engine rankings as information is better understood through the new system.
This new type of search is especially useful to mobile users who conduct talking searches from their devices. Ultimately Google would like to deliver exactly what a user is searching for, and help eliminate unrelated search results. This new change makes the need for remarkable content even more important. Google wants to encourage information that is of value at a high quality, and in a more precise way.
Here are the main components of Discover that will affect search and SEO practices:

A new search design

The updated feed layout aims to target your interests and to help make that process more simple with prominent images, headlines, and videos that stand out. Each topic name now has a Discover icon, which can be followed in order to view more about it.

More fresh and ‘evergreen’ content

There is now a larger variety of the latest topics as well as evergreen content that Google considers to be highly valuable, but not necessary newly published. This includes both text and video, and is relevant to what someone might be looking for such as a hotel in a certain city. The new Discover now provides the best content as it relates to this type of query. Think of this like an inner librarian, who finds information that might be of interest to you before you think about it.

Better customization of topics of interest

The new focus is who is searching and what they are most interested in. New control features allow you to choose whether you would like to see more or less about a subject. The same principle applies to the latest news where users can now see different points of view on any given story.

Improved language translation

If you speak multiple languages or would like to see something in a different language then Google now provides a preference for that. Currently there is only support for English and Spanish, with others being added in the near future.

A new mobile homepage

We’ve been very used to going directly to Google to conduct a search — Discover will soon be added for mobile users in order to enhance questions and search information on topics you care about the most. For example, if someone would like to learn more about the game of tennis on their smart device then they would be able to find the most relevant content for what they are looking  for.
As with any new update it is still early to know exactly how Google Discover will directly impact SEO. By following the same rules through the previous algorithm updates your brand should continue to provide fresh and valuable content that truly adds to your community with a focus on best answering their most pressing questions both in text and voice activated search.
How do you view latest Google Discover update? Will this be good or bad for SEO? Share your thoughts below!