Google offers many different opportunities to be visible online as a brand or company. A valuable opportunity is Google News. Since 2002, it has been possible to search for news via this platform. Google News collects news items from around the world, groups similar articles, and displays the most interesting articles to the reader. The advantage of Google News is that you can quickly spread news to a large audience.
What is Google News?
The news service offers many opportunities to become visible. There are different places where Google displays news articles:
- News tab within Google search
- Top stories within Google search
- News.google.com
News tab in the search engine
Find various news articles under the news tab in Google. This tab can be found in Google's search engine. Here you will find news articles that match the chosen keyword.
Top stories
For news-related keywords, top stories appear in the search results. A great place to claim a lot of space in the search results.
Google News
Google News also has its own news application (https://news.google.com/), which can also be used as an app. Find the most important news and personalized news for you here.
In short, many opportunities to reach your target audience, but how does your website end up in Google News?
How do you get into Google News?
Google News sets several requirements to become visible. It is important that you primarily publish news. This means that you:
- Publish regularly
- Write objectively
- Write grammatically correct
- Do not duplicate content
Do you meet the above points? Do you regularly write about developments in your field? Then your website is Google News-worthy.
Not all articles on your website may be suitable for Google News. Be cautious with posts about your own organization, advertorials, and sponsored items. Google does not want to show these types of articles in Google News. Therefore, let Google know which articles are suitable for Google News and which are not. Do this using a Google News Sitemap. With this sitemap, you tell Google News which posts to index and which not to.
Additionally, it is also possible to show other forms of content in Google News. Think of blogs, press releases, and user-generated content. It is not necessary to block this content from indexing. However, you must let Google know that this is a different type of content. You do this with the help of the Sitemap.
In short, it is possible to reach Google News with different types of content. Keep in mind that Google News is not intended for commercial messages. Make sure these messages are not indexed.
Registering your website for Google News
Not every website automatically ends up in Google News. Do you want to know if your website can be found in Google News? Then search for ‘site:yourwebsite.nl’. If you get no results, it means you are not yet in Google News. Submit your website to Google for review. An employee will review your website, and you will receive feedback on your submission within a few days.
Is your site not approved? Google often provides feedback with the reason for rejection. Most common reasons:
- You do not write independently enough
- News and commercial content are difficult to distinguish
- Your website contains duplicate content
- Contact and author information is not found
Improve your points of criticism and use the sitemap correctly. After 90 days, you may resubmit your website for review. It takes some effort to get your website to appear in Google News. However, this platform offers many interesting opportunities to reach your target audience.
Measuring Google News traffic
Is everything set up correctly? Then you naturally want to know how much traffic comes to your article via Google News. With Google Search Console, it is possible to gain insight into the performance of your articles.
News tab in the search engine
View the number of impressions and clicks of your website in the news tab in GSC. Go to search results and choose news as the search type. Here you will find all the data about performance in Google's news tab.
Top stories
Data on performance in top stories is difficult to track. These performances are included in the general web search. Therefore, in Google Search Console, it is not distinguishable which clicks come from top stories.
Google News
Do you want to measure how your website has performed in Google News? This is also possible with Google Search Console. Click on Google News in the right sidebar and view the report. In this report, you can see the number of clicks and impressions. You also get data on the average click-through rate.
What does this mean for you?
In this blog, you have read that there are many different places within Google where news articles can be displayed. As a result, Google News offers many opportunities to increase your online reach. Do you regularly write articles for your website? Then it is interesting to register your website for Google News!
How can Follo help you?
Do you want to reach your target audience via Google News? Follo is your strategic partner, and together we determine the best strategy. In addition, we help you optimize your website to provide the best user experience.
Are you not sure yet whether you want to use Google News or want to know if your website can be interesting for Google News? Contact our specialists!
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