Clients and prospects ask us this question a lot: How do I get my content into Google News?
First and foremost, this is not something that just happens because you have great content. Google News is just as competitive as the SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages), so you have to take a long term approach to getting into Google News.
Google does give you guidelines to follow. All these recommendations are very self explanatory, but some content marketers are ignoring them. If you want to see the full list of all guidelines, check out Google’s information here.
Here are the biggest and most important takeaways for someone trying to get into Google News.
Authority
Write what you know. Too many marketers are trying to write something that will “go viral” or striving to create a piece that is tied to the calendar or a current event. Instead, think in the long term. If you sell tires, don’t write about how it is take your pet to work day. It may get you some social likes now, but that post is pretty much irrelevant the rest of its life and there it sits.
(Hint: social media may be a better spot for that take your pet to work day post!)
Accountability
Users tell Google they value author biographies and accessible contact information. If you blog on some off-site blog that has no connection to your brand, you are missing a huge piece of the Google News puzzle. Also, you need to have authors for your content. It can be your marketing director, social manager or your CEO, but you need to have authors. This is the perfect opportunity to build Google Authorship and Google+ profiles, both of which Google values and rewards.
Readability
Have articles that are clearly written and feature correct grammar. You are thinking this is obvious, and you are correct. But for those marketers who are working with the cheapest content vendor possible, this is a huge issue. The user experience your content provides is essential to your success. If you are looking for a content vendor you can trust, work with one who stands by their quality and don’t work with the cheapest provider you can find.
Journalistic standards
Use original content and give honest attribution. Simply put: If you cite something, give the source of that information. This simple task is forgotten by many websites and their content marketing teams. Also: If you publish aggregated content, you will need to separate it from your original work. Google News wants your unique and original content and that is what they value most.
Google provides all the resources you need to be included in Google News. The first piece is filling out their questionnaire. This will get you started in the process and it will ask you to answer questions that show you are a news site and doing all the things listed above.
Getting in Google News is something that takes a strong commitment to relevant and unique content that offers value to the audience your company serves. If you are able to make the commitment, like many brands have, then over time you will be able to get into Google News and reap the rewards.
