There are an estimated 280 million Google News users worldwide, and over 60% trust Google News more than any other news outlet. This is hardly surprising considering that Google’s news platform offers benefits like an easily accessible live stream of news that’s tailored to user preferences. And it’s all free!
Google News is also great for business. Featuring highly in Google News listings can be so helpful in creating organic interest that, in some cases, it accounts for the entirety of a company’s web traffic. Or, at least, it used to.
Since 2019, changes to the Google News publisher acceptance process have been making it harder to gain a Google News top spot. In some cases, it isn’t even clear whether a website’s content will appear or not! More recent changes in November last year have led to countless pieces of content disappearing from Google News.
Google News used to have a relatively simple, if long-winded, manual acceptance process; however, that changed in 2019 with the launch of Google’s new Publisher Center.
From then on, the Publisher Center interface acted as a central hub for content management and spelt the end of Google News applications. Essentially, it’s Google’s way of managing content through algorithms, instead, the Google News acceptance processes became entirely automated. In theory, this was so that Google could identify more ‘eligible’ news, a goal that Google aimed to achieve using algorithms that favoured content which –
It sounds pretty reasonable, but that reasoning gets more complicated when you consider that, alongside these approval changes, Google removed any notifications regarding content acceptance. While the Google News Publisher Center can help to determine ‘ineligible’ content, there’s also very little advice about whether or not a piece of content is eligible, leaving content creators almost entirely in the dark.
A string of Google search and Discover updates that began last year have taken an even more significant toll on Google News content visibility.
According to Google, these changes were again intended to keep ‘helpful content’ on the front page. But, 72% of publishers saw their content disappear from Google’s top stories unless they used the ‘most recent’ tab. 73% also saw their Google Discover traffic drop to zero.
SEO explainer articles, both past and present, seem to have been hit especially hard despite technically meeting Google’s eligibility criteria. There are also indications that ongoing Google updates are set to target third-party commercial content, such as eCommerce. Unchecked, this could lead to drastic changes in content traffic for countless companies.
Much of last year’s traffic disruption was due to an unspecified bug in October’s update, which Google has rectified. However, there’s no real sign that Google intends to improve its acceptance process more than that minor fix.
As is always the case, Google has remained incredibly closed-lipped about the whole acceptance debacle, and the truth is that no one can truly predict what they’ll do next. We know that Google has consistently continued to tailor processes towards authoritative content; in some ways, being a step away from third-party hosted content is in keeping with that. We know less about whether we can expect to see much-needed improvements, which should ideally include increased acceptance transparency, potential improvements for inclusion, and confirmation of the consistency of inclusion.
Considering that Google is pretty set on an automated future, we can confidently say that these automated application processes aren’t due to change anytime soon.
The current uncertainty of Google News acceptance is undeniably frustrating. That said, as is always the case, the best way to impress Google’s algorithms is to implement what you know they love.
Even in Google News, this includes keywords, external links, etc. Web page authority, more generally, also plays a crucial role in helping to increase your chances of acceptance. Companies working with a marketing agency will also find themselves far better able to create high-quality content according to real-time updates. Then, earning your spot on Google News shouldn’t be too hard, even within its increasingly vague and complex acceptance processes!
In conclusion, while Google’s content acceptance process may seem daunting, understanding its intricacies can help you navigate this ever-changing landscape. By staying informed and implementing best practices, you can optimise your content for success on Google News.
