If you work on the internet, you know the importance of conquering Google in order to attract a bigger audience and gain relevance. And who doesn’t want their content on the first page of search engines?

But, it isn’t only your blog and website posts that you need to worry about. 

If you produce journalistic content, ranking well on Google News is one way to increase traffic to your website and become even more competitive.

Learn more about this Google tool and find out what you need to do in order to make your news stand out!

What is Google News?

Google News is Google’s platform that organizes and presents news content, always focused on originality, reliability, and of course, users’ search intent.

Unlike the blog strategy, where the focus is on producing evergreen content, the important thing here is to publish content about recent events and news.

As a well-known company in the market, it’s not hard to imagine the importance of having a news story published at the top of Google News.

How does the tool work?

The tool acts as a news curator and only presents content to readers that meets all of its requirements, which we will present in further detail below.

When accessing Google News, people can see the top news stories on the homepage, but they can also see only recommendations made based on each user’s interests or search by specific topics.

Users can also filter by news from a specific country, the world, or local news, and also by categories, such as sports, health, and business.

How to appear on Google News?

If you’re already in the habit of posting news on your business’ website, you’re probably wondering how to make your content appear on Google News.

The relevance of the portal is one of the biggest attractions for companies and entrepreneurs who want to reach a bigger audience and generate traffic with their articles. 

If you don’t want to be left out, check out what you should consider when publishing news on your website!

1. Produce current news and content

The platform focuses on delivering quality and up-to-date news to users. So, invest in producing content that offers this experience in order to stand out!

On this type of platform, you can’t take too long to publish about any given issue. Journalistic vehicles need to be timely and deliver up-to-date news so that readers can always have access to current information. 

Follow other portals and news websites to stay up to date, get ideas, and be able to take advantage of opportunities. 

2. Create eye-catching headlines and use keywords

Think of a newsstand with several options on display for people. Many have the same lead stories; after all, they’re all reporting on what happened or is happening in the world at that moment.

Unless you go to the newsstand interested in buying a specific newspaper, you’ll probably buy the one that catches your eye the most, right?

Google News basically works in the same way. So, create attractive headlines so that users are attracted to your link and choose to access your content.

Also, as with all other Google-related searches, don’t forget to use SEO techniques and work carefully on your keywords. After all, people will find your content through these keywords.

3. Produce original content, don’t copy competitors

The rush to publish the most up-to-date news makes some people simply copy content from other news outlets and replicate it on their pages. Don’t do this if you want good results!

Google News only values original content that truly conveys credibility.

Keeping up with competitors is critical for your strategy, but copying them won’t get your business anywhere, nor show your uniqueness.

4. Maintain consistent production

In order to be relevant to the public, and inform people about events in almost real time, news portals need to be updated on a daily basis (or as often as possible).

Nobody wants to go to a news website only to find content that’s already a few weeks old.

In order to ensure the frequency and volume of publications, you can invest in an in-house writing team, in freelance content producers, or even in partnerships with people who are considered authorities on the subject matter. This will help further strengthen your website.

5. Have a responsive website or blog

People consume content on various devices. Therefore, it’s essential to have a responsive website. 

This makes mobile browsing easier and ensures that your content is adaptable to different screen sizes and configurations.

Opening a misformatted page on a cellphone is a bad user experience and can make users give up on reading your content, even if it’s high quality. 

6. Strengthen your domain authority

Domain authority helps generate more traffic and attract people, and when it comes to news, this is very important.

In the cyber world, where there’s so much fake news, websites considered reliable and safe are the most recognized and, consequently, are the ones most displayed by Google and accessed by users.

If your website is still in its infancy, you need to be patient. Building domain authority is a long-term job. However, there are certain strategies you can use, such as:

• Obtain external links from pages that are already recognized;
• Partner with experts in the topics being covered so that they produce and/or subscribe to your content.

7. Optimize your website’s code

In order to appear in Google News, websites must have simple, organized, and straightforward HTML code. For example, content needs to be in one continuous block without being mixed up with other content or videos.

Creating an XML map might also be a good idea for those who want their news to be displayed in the platform’s feed, since Google tracks sitemaps as often as it tracks other aspects of your website.

Include the most recent articles in the mapping and update them as soon as new content is included.

8. Comply with Google News requirements

The platform has certain requirements that need to be met in order for your website to be accepted. 

One of them is that websites should be exclusively for news. Many websites have a separate section for news content, as well as having a blog, for example. 

But, in the case of Google News, the page needs to be fully geared towards journalistic content.

Other requirements include the following:

• URLs must be static;
• Websites cannot disclose sensitive or copyrighted information;
• Websites must be constantly updated and always contain reliable information.

9. Tag your news with structured data

Google checks thousands of pages all the time, so why not give it a little help to understand what is being shared on your page.

Use structured data to standardize content, simplify understanding, and classify the information being shared.

10. ALWAYS produce quality content 

You don’t have to apply for your website to appear on the platform, however, remember that Google is increasingly concerned with the user experience of their tools. 

The company has no interest in displaying bad, incomplete content with dubious sources, or content that just tries to sell things instead of actually providing value.

Therefore, invest in quality news content in order to achieve your goals, gain authority, and generate traffic!

Why is it important to optimize content for Google News?

Are you still wondering if it’s worth having content appear on Google News?

Check out the main advantages!

More authority

The public trusts news content more, especially when it’s on recognized and trusted portals.

Appearing on Google News is one way to gain that trust, because people know that not just any page is displayed there.

Segmented traffic

Remember how we mentioned that the tool displays news according to users’ interests? 

This is a great way to segment your webpage’s organic traffic and increase the click-through rate.

Qualified audience

Since Google News helps you segment your traffic, you attract a qualified audience, i.e. one that is truly interested in what you have to offer. 

This is the best thing to increase your business’ conversion rate!

Attract traffic with the right strategies!

Google News is a valuable tool for those who publish news content and want to use it to generate more traffic and improve their results.

However, optimizing content to appear on this platform’s feed is not the only strategy to attract people to your website or blog. 

Investing in paid campaigns is another option that can generate great results. If you’d like to learn more about paid traffic we have a complete article for you: Discover 6 ways to invest in paid traffic and increase your business’ online visibility!