Pocket for Publishers - FAQ
What are Pocket recommendations? How are they selected to appear in Pocket and Firefox products?
Recommendations are articles and videos considered worthy of our users’ time and attention. They are curated in part by our community of more than 30 million users, who save millions of items to Pocket each day that are interesting, useful, and meaningful to them. From there, we use algorithms to sift through saved content based on indicators of quality, including how often a particular story is being read, how often it’s shared in Pocket; plus a variety of other engagement metrics. Finally, Pocket’s editor-curators sift through stories with high engagement, confirm they meet our editorial guidelines, and select the best to share with the wider Pocket and Firefox communities.
Where do Pocket recommendations appear?
Recommendations from Pocket are shown to users in a variety of ways.
Firefox New Tab: Firefox users—as well as those browsing with Chrome who have installed the Pocket new tab extension—see recommendations from Pocket every time a new tab is opened. With the help of Pocket users and algorithms, our team of curators identify which articles should be recommended. The stories are sourced from a wide and diverse assortment of publications with a track record of trustworthy and accurate coverage.
Pocket Hits: Pocket Hits is a daily email newsletter that includes 7-10 article recommendations and reaches up to 7 million users each day. Like the recommendations in the Firefox New Tab, articles featured in Pocket Hits are overseen by a team of curators, informed by what is being read and saved in Pocket.
Within Pocket: Pocket users will also see recommendations delivered to them within our mobile apps for iOS and Android, our website, and also when saving links using our Save to Pocket browser extension for Chrome. These recommendations appear according to our algorithms and their personal Pocket use.
How can I get my content to appear in Pocket’s apps, email newsletters, or Firefox New Tab?
Aside from your content becoming recommended organically through the methods described above, we do not offer the ability to promote or pitch content directly to Pocket’s curators.
If you’re interested in paid promotion, you can participate in our sponsored content program. This option guarantees a certain number of impressions and/or clicks, while also offering you the ability to reach a specific audience.
Most of all, we encourage you to continue publishing excellent journalism and encouraging readers to save it to Pocket. This is the best way for your content to rise to the top among Pocket users and surface as a Pocket recommendation.
Can I pitch content to your team directly?
Our editorial team does not currently accept pitches.
One of our stories is currently a Pocket recommendation, but there is an error. How can I fix it?
If the error is within the text article we are linking to, you may change it on your end, and our link will remain functional. If you wish you to change the URL, or have found an error in the way it is promoted in Pocket Hits or on the New Tab, please email publishers@getpocket.com and we’ll be happy to help.
Why do I see recommended stories with publication dates that aren’t from today?
Many of the best stories weren’t published in the past 24 hours, and Pocket is committed to elevating the web’s greatest stories, not just the latest ones. On occasion, you may encounter an article from one of our publisher partners hosted on the Pocket site. In these cases, we’ve paid publishers to republish high-quality “Pocket Worthy” stories from their archives because we believe these articles continue to be as enjoyable and relevant as the day they were written.
By elevating these stories and giving them a second life with our audiences, we hope to better support long-lasting, high-quality journalism and content creation across the web.
How do I get my publication’s stories syndicated by Pocket?
We are exploring ways to extend the lifespan of great articles via syndication. It's an extension of Pocket's effort to create a space where high-quality content can thrive and be successful, well beyond its publication date. If you are interested in discussing syndication, please email publishers@getpocket.com.
Can I publish or upload my content to Pocket? Can I provide an RSS feed?
It’s not possible to publish content on Pocket directly. Instead, a story appears on our platform as soon your readers saves it to Pocket. The more readers you have using Pocket, and the more they save your articles, the more likely your stories are to be recommended to the Pocket community at large, via Pocket Hits or the New Tab.
Does installing the Pocket Button on my publication’s site increase my chances of having content appear in Pocket’s apps or Firefox New Tab?
Not directly, but it is a great way to encourage your audience to save your content to Pocket. The more saves and engagement your content has in Pocket, the more likely it will become a recommendation.
What is a publisher dashboard, and does it help inform recommendations?
Our publisher dashboard can help a publication track articles that are being saved and engaged with by Pocket users. It does not influence recommendations. If you’re interested in gaining access to a dashboard, click here to learn more.
What kind of content performs best in Pocket?
In Pocket, there’s an audience for most types of stories, whether they’re about technology, travel, science, sports, personal finance, entertainment, food, or anything else. It’s not the category of an article or video that determines whether it performs well so much as the quality of the writing and subject matter. And while that often means that long-form articles do perform well, we also see shorter articles thrive when they are concise and thoughtful.
How can I make sure my content looks great and is captured correctly in Pocket?
Our reader mode, which we call Article View, displays content in a stripped-down, distraction-free format that’s optimized for our users’ screens. In order for this content to look its best in Pocket, we recommend building your site in simple and valid HTML markup. If your site is built with JavaScript, having an HTML fallback will be a big help.
If you find that your content isn’t accurately represented in Article View, we’re happy to help. Please contact us and share a few examples.