A lot going on in the business of journalism, publishing and big tech at the moment and what has really picked our interest at OggaDoon is the dynamics between Google News, publishers and SEO. It is so interesting to see the shifts in the business of journalism so being the curious bunch that we are, we just had to delve a little deeper to help ourselves but most importantly our clients stay ahead of the game.
Our very own Thanh Nguyen has done thorough research on Google News and publishers to share the knowledge and give you some guidelines on how to get your company’s blog or news site on Google News. And remember we are always here to help.
Google News in partnership with local news
Google News aggregator collects articles from over 20,000 publishers worldwide. It is a powerful tool for people to get the latest news from their own region. Available in 30 languages, Google News monitors news sites for the most relevant information and provides readers with a news compilation on a variety of topics and categories. Google News is also an additional source of website traffic for news media.
In the world dominated by social media today, according to Press Gazette research published in 2019, 43 UK local news titles closed in 2018 while 29 were launched, resulting in a total loss of 14 titles. Google News has jumped in and teamed up with the UK’s biggest regional news publishers to find new ways of making local digital journalism viable. The partnership involved several million pounds of funding from the tech giant.
Google started paying for news
In October 2022, Google unveiled the News Showcase programme with a $1 billion budget to pay publishers for the use of their content. Google pays publications a monthly fee to maintain a newsfeed, featuring headlines, pictures and website links. Readers can browse different feeds on the Showcase homepage and choose to ‘follow’ certain publications.
Publishers with paywalled websites are also paid to offer up free access to some of their content. Publishers can choose to allow Showcase readers to access a certain number of articles for free before they are prompted to log in to their website or buy a subscription. Aiming to build a stronger future for journalism, Google wants to pay for quality content from publishers and encourages readers to pay for quality news to contribute to the revenue of publications.
How to get on Google News?
Before submitting your website for inclusion into Google News, you have to follow Google’s guidelines first. To compete with other publishers, check your news source is corresponding to Google requirements.
To learn more about the link between Google News and Publishers and to take away the steps of how to get on Google News, Download the Researched Document here – Google News & Publishers Explained – by Thanh
In summary, writing niche content while keeping your best practices of technicalities with Google will increase your chance to get listed in Google News.
Content:
- Niche websites are more welcomed in Google News than portals that cover a wide range of topics.
- Spelling and grammar are just as important as unique, meaningful content.
- Avoid being deceptive, both in content and in contact information.
- Don’t promote hate or violence. It is forbidden by Google News.
- Focus on core content, rather than PR or advertisement.
- Website usability and ease of use are also important aspects in getting approval from the Google News team.
- Content updated daily is highly recommended.
- Article dates and bylines indicate transparency and authority.
- Articles from various authors are typically highly valuable when you apply to Google News.
- Pay attention to text descriptions or transcriptions.
- Following common SEO requirements for Google Search will improve your website position in Google News as well.
Technicalities:
- Google News bots can crawl HTML content only. They can not read PDF, video, audio or JavaScript elements.
- Text descriptions for video and audio files will increase the chance that your content will get included in Google News.
- SEO-friendly URLs should be used for your web pages.
- An XML sitemap helps Google bots find your new articles more quickly.
- HTML links are visible to crawlers, unlike graphic links.
- Use a Robots.txt file to give instructions to the Google bot.
- Use Meta tags to close a page from indexing.
- Structured Data for a news website helps to get additional traffic from search results.
By following our tips, you will have a better chance of successfully getting your news site or blog included in Google News. Once your news site or blog is approved by Google Publishers Centre, you will likely see an increase in organic traffic, in addition to Google Search. This practice eventually will attract new readers to your content.
At OggaDoon Guerrilla Comms, we are a bunch of PR and digital marketing experts who are passionate about reporting the latest news, updating the latest digital trends and sharing advice on how to help startups increase awareness within their industries, gain more leads and capture the most from their potential markets.
For more specific advice on how to grow your own brand within your market niche, get in touch with OggaDoon’s team of experts today.
