Google News is a specialized news search engine created by Google in 2004. It features articles from trusted publishers, ensuring that users have access to high-quality news content from credible sources.
Do you want to improve your search engine optimization? Do you want people to find your website when they search for news-related topics?
Then get your site listed in Google News. If your company, organization, or business has breaking news, blog articles, or other content that is relevant and timely, then getting listed in Google News can help raise its visibility among potential customers.
Getting listed can also drive traffic to your site, boost user trust and credibility with search engines, and increase brand awareness. In this article, we’ll show you how to submit your website to Google News so that more people can find it.
Unfortunately, as with any algorithm, Google has made it hard for webmasters to get their site listed on the Google News search engine.
You can’t just sign up and submit your site. You need to be invited first, and then follow a rather lengthy process to get your site listed on Google News.
There are only a few places you can directly apply to be added to Google News. Those places are:
– via Blogger (for personal blogs)
– via Social Media Sites like Medium, LinkedIn, and Twitter
– by reaching out directly to as many local media sites as possible
What is Google News?
Google News is a news aggregator that lets users find and read news articles from thousands of different sources and websites. It also provides data about what is trending across the globe and in different regions of the world.
Google News will often show search results for news-related topics at the top of the SERPs, so it’s important for businesses to make sure their websites are listed on Google News. Google News also gives you the opportunity to list your news publication with the Google News Publisher Center.
If you are accepted, you can submit your articles for publication on Google News and make them visible to millions of potential readers. If you have a newsworthy story that you think your readers would benefit from knowing about, or if you want to remain up-to-date on what’s going on in your industry, Google News is an excellent resource.
The Benefits of Being in Google News
As we covered above, Google News is a powerful tool that can be used by people across the globe to gather and disseminate information. If you have any newsworthy information, you should share it on Google News so that it can be seen by millions of people.
Below are some of the advantages of being listed in Google News.
- It is heavily visited. Millions of people use Google News every month, so if you are listed, you could reach a large audience.
- Google News is an authority site. Being listed in Google News will help your brand, product, or service be seen as a trusted source of information.
- Getting listed could improve your SEO. The algorithms and methodology used to rank websites on its news platform are similar to those used to rank websites in search engine results. In fact, being listed in Google News could boost your SEO.
- The good news is it could drive more traffic to your website. If people see your article on Google News, they might click through to your site. If they like what they see, they might become customers or brand advocates.
How to Get Your Site Listed in Google News
If you want your news or blog articles to be seen by people who are searching for news-related topics, then you need to get your site listed in Google News. Follow these steps to do just that:
- Log in to your Google My Business account. If you don’t have one yet, you can get started here.
- Click the “Edit” button next to the listing for your website.
- Click the “Add a new URL” button. This should open up a form asking you to enter a few pieces of information. You’ll need to enter the following:
- The website’s URL or brand name. If you are submitting a blog article, use the URL of the blog post.
- A category that best describes your news.
- The language(s) used on your site.
- Your contact information. If you have a team, you can choose which members need to be listed.
- If you want Google News to pick the best images, you can select “Let Google News pick images from pages on this site.”
The Good News
All news sites are welcome to apply to be listed on Google News. No special accreditations are required. However, Google does have a few criteria your site must adhere to in order to be listed on Google News.
- Your website must be primarily about current events and/or significant world developments. This means your content must be timely.
- Your site must adhere to Google’s content policies. That means no spamming, no fake news, etc.
- Your site must have a significant amount of original content on it.
- Your domain must be at least 2 months old.
The Bad News
Unfortunately, you can’t just submit your site directly without first being invited. You can’t even apply to be added to the News section directly via Google.
There are a number of ways to go about getting your site added to the news site. Unfortunately, they all require a significant amount of effort and time.
There is no “one-size-fits-all” solution to getting listed. The process is completely up to you, but it is not an easy task by any means.
How to Evaluate Your Website Readiness For Google News
Before you even begin trying to get added to the news platform, there are a number of things you need to make sure are in order. If you don’t do this, it’s unlikely you’ll even be invited to start the process of getting added to News.
- First and foremost, you have to have a legitimate news website. This means your site has to be primarily about current events and/or significant world developments. This is one of the main criteria Google uses to determine which sites to invite to the News section.
- You also have to have created a significant amount of original content. This is another big one for Google. They want to make sure no one is just stealing the content of other websites and republishing it on their own.
- You must also have a significant amount of traffic coming to your site. A small or new site simply won’t get noticed by Google. You need a good amount of traffic – at least a few thousand visitors a day before you even have a shot at getting added to its news platform.
Step 1: Confirm your site’s newsworthiness
First and foremost, you have to confirm that your site meets the criteria for being listed on Google News. You do this by completing a simple form on Google’s News Publisher Tools page.
This form has a drop-down menu at the top that allows you to select the type of site you run. After selecting the “News” option, you can then enter your domain name and click “Submit” to confirm your site’s newsworthiness.
Step 2: Create a recognizable URL for Google News
Google News likes a URL with a recognizable name. This often comes down to the individual person who is invited to submit their website to the News section. If they want to add your site, they can accept your URL or they can suggest a new one.
You can try to get your URL accepted straight away if you’re invited to submit your site. If you don’t get it accepted, you’ll have to go back and forth with the person who controls the site and try to work something out. If you don’t get your URL accepted on the first try, you can always try again if you are invited to the News section. It’s likely that whoever is in charge of the News section will give you a chance to change your URL if you’re invited to begin the process of being added to News.
Step 3: Write a press release and syndicate it
Next, you need to write a press release about your site and syndicate it to a few major news sites. This helps Google determine just how legitimate your site truly is.
It also helps Google News determine what type of content to display on your site. You can use a website like PR Newswire to syndicate your press release. This will charge you a small fee, but it will also help you submit your press release to major news sites.
There are a few sites where you can submit your press release without paying a fee. However, you’re unlikely to get your press release syndicated to any major news site without paying a fee. This is yet another way you can prove your site’s legitimacy to Google News.
Step 4: Submit your site’s HTML page(s)
Finally, you have to submit the HTML page(s) of your site to Google News. This can be done by clicking “Add more page URLs” in the News Publisher Tools.
You need to submit the HTML page of your homepage, as well as any other information pages you have on your site. If you have a “Contact Us” or “About Us” page, you need to submit those as well.
In addition to submitting the HTML pages of your site, you also need to submit a sitemap to Google News.
This lets Google know what pages are available on your site and how often they are updated. You can create a sitemap using XML Sitemaps or a Google-approved sitemap generator. Alternatively, you can simply upload your sitemap to your website through CMS or FTP.
How to Check If Your Website is Listed in Google News
After you’ve submitted your website, you can check whether or not it has been approved. If it has not been approved, you can follow up with the company to find out why.
Note that it may take a few days for your site to be reviewed, so don’t panic if you don’t see it right away. You can visit the Google News Publisher Center to see if your site is listed.
If it is, you’ll be able to see its current placement and stats. If it isn’t, you can follow up with Google to find out why. You can also verify your website through Google News on the Google News Verification website.
3 Tips for Maximizing SEO When Submitted to Google News
If you follow the steps above, you can be almost certain that your website will be approved for Google News. However, there are a few things you can do to maximize your SEO when you’re listed in Google News. – Use the proper title, image, and description.
The image is particularly important, so make sure the image you’re using is high-quality and branded. The description should be between 150-160 characters and include the keywords you want to rank for.
The title should be between 15-40 characters and be a summary of the article.
- Make sure your website is mobile-friendly. Google News is mobile-friendly, which means it’s designed to be easily accessible from smartphones and other mobile devices. If your website isn’t mobile-friendly, you probably won’t be able to get listed.
- Include your target keywords. You don’t have to stuff your article with keywords, but they should be sprinkled throughout.
Conclusion
Google News is a powerful tool that can be used by people around the world to gather and disseminate information. If you have newsworthy information, you should share it on Google News so that it can be seen by millions of people.
When you get your site listed in Google News, you can expect to see an increase in traffic, brand awareness, search engine rankings, and potential customers. If you follow the steps above, you can get your site listed on Google News and start reaping these rewards.
However, getting listed can be extremely difficult for anyone to submit their site to Google News. If you want to be added to Google News, you need to go above and beyond what is expected of you.
You need to prove to Google just how legitimate your site is, and how worthy it is of being added to the News section. And the only way to do that is to follow the process outlined in this article.
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