As we get ready to kick off a new NFL season today, we wanted to take a look back at last season, and see which keywords and publishers drove Google SERP visibility. Historical analysis is a key part of SEO content strategy as it can help identify performance trends to inform tactics for the new season. Fortunately in the Trisolute News Dashboard we have several years’ worth of SERP visibility data.

At the same time, the Google SERP is rapidly transforming thanks to new AI features: we are now tracking carousels inside of AI Overviews, for example. Social media platforms continue to dominate some aspects of the SERP. Understanding your publisher brand’s strengths in topic authority and ranking type (video, live coverage, etc.) is critical, as is implementing workflows that are nimble enough to adapt to whatever Google may add to the SERP over the 2026-27 NFL season.

Let’s take a look at the SERP visibility data for last season to enhance your NFL search strategy playbook.

NFL regular season: September 4, 2025, to January 4, 2026

Mobile SERP

Top 5 publishers on mobile for publisher-heavy ranking types such as Top Stories News Box

Mobile News Box Top Publishers

Publisher-heavy (Top Stories News Box, etc.)

• espn.com
• nfl.com
• cbssports.com
• nytimes.com/athletic
• yahoo.com

Social-heavy (What people are saying, etc.)

• youtube.com
• x.com
• reddit.com
• instagram.com
• cbssports.com

Mobile News Box Top Keywords

• nfl
• preseason nfl
• nfl power rankings
• nfl trade deadline
• nfl week 3
• nfl predictions
• nfl week 4
• nfl week 2
• 2025 nfl
• nfl week 6

Desktop SERP

Top 5 publishers on desktop for publisher-heavy ranking types such as Top Stories News Box

Desktop News Box Top Publishers

Publisher-heavy (Top Stories News Box, etc.)

• espn.com
• nfl.com
• cbssports.com
• yahoo.com
• usatoday.com

Social-heavy (What people are saying, etc.)

• youtube.com
• x.com
• reddit.com
• instagram.com
• facebook.com

Desktop News Box Top Keywords

• nfl
• preseason nfl
• nfl power rankings
• nfl trade deadline
• nfl power
• nfl predictions
• nfl week 2
• 2025 nfl
• nfl picks
• nfl draft

NFL Playoffs: Jan 10-Jan 25, 2026

NFL Playoffs 2026, Mobile News Boxes, Top 5 publishers

Playoffs Mobile News Box Top Publishers 

Publisher-heavy (Top Stories News Box, etc.)

• espn.com
• cbssports.com
• nfl.com
• yahoo.com
• usatoday.com

Mobile News Box top keywords

• nfl divisional round
• nfl wild card
• divisional round
• nfl playoff schedule
• nfl playoff
• afc championship game 2026
• divisional round nfl
• predictions divisional round
• nfl divisional
• nfc championship game

Playoffs Desktop News Box Top Publishers 

Publisher-heavy (Top Stories News Box, etc.)

• yahoo.com
• espn.com
• usatoday.com
• cbssports.com
• nfl.com

Desktop News Box top keywords

• playoff schedule
• 2026 nfl
• playoff bracket nfl
• divisional round
• nfl divisional round
• nfl bracket
• afc championship game 2026
• chargers wild card
• predictions divisional round
• wild card

Social-heavy (What people are saying, etc.)

Mobile+Desktop News Boxes

• x.com
• youtube.com
• reddit.com
• Instagram.com
• cbssports.com

Super Bowl 2.8.26

Mobile+Desktop share of voice, Super Bowl, publisher-heavy

Mobile+Desktop News Box Share of Voice (Publisher-heavy)

• foxnews.com
• usatoday.com
• nytimes.com/athletic
• espn.com
• yahoo.com

Super Bowl Mobile News Box

• foxnews.com
• usatoday.com
• espn.com
• NYTimes.com/athletic
• cbsnews.com

Super Bowl Desktop News Box 

• usatoday.com
• foxnews.com
• NYTimes.com/athletic
• yahoo.com
• espn.com

Super Bowl video mobile+desktop share of voice

• youtube.com
• Instagram.com
• facebook.com
• patriots.com
• reddit.com

Super Bowl live flag mobile+desktop share of voice

• NYTimes.com/athletic
• nbcnews.com
• nbcbayarea.com
• cbssports.com
• usatoday.com

Super Bowl top social platforms:

• x.com
• reddit.com
• instagram.com
• youtube.com
• facebook.com

Keywords

Mobile News Box top 10 keywords Super Bowl 

• news england patriots
• super bowl lx
• seattle seahawks
• super bowl halftime show
• super bowl 2026
• super bowl
• tpusa’s all american halftime show
• levi’s stadium
• kid rock
• bad bunny

Desktop News Box top 10 keywords Super Bowl

• super bowl halftime show
• new england patriots
• tpusa’s all american halftime show
• seattle seahawks
• levi’s stadium
• superb owl
• super bowl lx
• super bowl bad bunny
• bad bunny 
• kid rock

How the Google SERP has changed since last season

• AIO Carousels: Top Stories carousels embedded inside AI Overviews first appeared on the Google SERP this summer. We now track AIO Carousels in the Trisolute News Dashboard and are seeing a healthy number being generated in the Sports category. 
• Expansion of AI and personalization features: From preferred sources on the SERPs to Discover feed personalization, users can now shape their search experience more than ever before. How this will impact publisher visibility remains to be seen. 
• Social platforms on the SERPs: While the dramatic increase in social platform SERP visibility may have cooled off a bit this year, social continues to drive a great deal of visibility rankings, especially for sports topics. We expect that trend to continue for the new NFL season. For publishers and search visibility, social platforms are both competitors and potential collaborators.

What to consider for the 2026-27 NFL season

• Assess the current state of the Google SERP for NFL content: how far down the page is the Top Stories News Box pushed for the scorebox widget? Will Google lean more into AI Overviews for NFL content? Will AIO Carousels play a role? Identify the areas of concern and opportunity when it comes to how your newsroom’s NFL content shows up on the SERP.
• Pay attention to Discover: Last year, Google incorporated AI into headlines and descriptions on its Discover feed entries, leading to several accounts of false information such as final scores for NFL games that had not even been played yet. Brand trust is critical for passionate sports fans, who are prone to embracing conspiracy theories about league play being “scripted.” Report any errors you see with your brand’s content in the Discover feed.
• As much as things change, there are certain keywords that perform well year over year for NFL coverage on the Google SERPs: teams, players, matchups, transactions, nfl week [insert number], nfl picks, nfl predictions. In the 2025-26 regular season, cbssports.com had the most keyword rankings for “nfl predictions” and “nfl picks” while espn.com had the most rankings for the nfl week keywords and nfl power rankings by week keywords. Honing in on less competitive keywords or finding variations of popular search terms may help boost visibility in what is a highly competitive SERP.
• Showcase newsroom expertise:  NFL audiences want dependable live coverage plus post-game analysis and insights. Ensure that each week you are highlighting the people and the data that makes your NFL coverage unique and worth following. Not only is this what audiences want it’s what Google claims they seek to surface across their search products. Maintain consistent branding across search and social platforms to reinforce the message.
• Follow your audience: Now more than ever it’s important to track where sports fans are showing up online to follow and discuss the game. There are several active social platforms that scored strong Google visibility last season: YouTube, Reddit, X, Instagram, and Facebook. Ensure audience teams are working together across search and social platforms to create collaborative workflows that meet audiences where they are and builds loyal engagement.

Insights/Resources

• Super Bowl LX analysis
• 2024-2025 season analysis

Not yet part of the Trisolute News Dashboard family? Request a FREE DEMO today and find out how your articles rank on Google Discover, Google News, and the SERPs!