How to be the first in Google News Search lists

In 2019, Google answered one of the most common questions: how to get to the top of Google News Search results. The company published an article on its official blog with a number of tips and insights to help publishers find the key to success.

First of all, Google recommends reviewing the information in the Google News Publisher Help Center, especially the content and technical guidelines.

Google outlined 6 important tips that publishers should pay close attention to.

1. Headlines and dates
   • Use clear headlines: Google News analyzes various signals to determine the headline of an article, including the HTML Title tag and the most prominent text on the page.
   • Specify the exact time and date: Google News tries to determine the time and date when an article was published in several different ways. Help the system by using the following methods:
     • provide one clear date and time. According to Google’s date guidelines, place a clear and visible date and time between the headline and the article text. Avoid displaying other dates on the page;
     • use datePublished and dateModified markup. It is also very important to set the correct time zone indicator for both AMP and non-AMP pages.

   

   Example of JSON-LD markup with datePublished and dateModified parameters

   • Do not artificially “refresh” stories: if an article has been substantially updated, it makes sense to give it a new date and time. However, you should not refresh content without a strong reason. Also, do not try to create a new article from a previously published one by changing only a few sentences, then deleting the old text and redirecting it to the new page. This goes against Google’s recommendations regarding URLs.
2. Do not duplicate content
   • Google News supports independent, original journalistic content. Fake news is one of the major problems on the Internet. That is why Google tries to prevent copied or rewritten material from performing better than the original source.
3. Be transparent
   • Clear headlines, author information, and publication contact details should all be present on your website, because this is information your visitors want to know.
   • Do not mislead users. Google does not allow websites or accounts engaged in coordinated activity to misrepresent any information, hide their country of origin, or impersonate another organization.
4. Do not participate in link spam or link selling.
5. Use JSON-LD structured data for enhanced search appearance.
6. Protect your users and their data with HTTPS — a protocol that confirms a secure connection between the browser and the website, helping protect visitors’ confidential information.

Websites using the HTTPS protocol display a secure connection indicator in the address bar — a trust signal for both users and Google

There are also several additional practical tips that can help you improve your news content.

1. When writing a fresh article, ask yourself five questions: Who? What? Where? When? Why? Answer them in the first paragraph of your news content, giving readers the most important information right away.
2. Use the right nouns in your headline to attract attention: proper names of brands, organizations, or people connected to your news. If you can creatively use proper names where other news outlets have not, you can gain a strong advantage in Google News Search.
3. Share multimedia content. Google, just like readers, values videos and graphics. However, do not forget to follow the company’s guidelines.
4. Focus more on foundational news and less on sensational stories. Be careful with sensational, exclusive, negative, and current content (SENC). Such stories can go viral, but they may not always support long-term trust and quality.