Google’s team of Search Advocates, including Daniel Waisberg and Cherry Prommawin, have recently shared their insights into efficient SEO guidelines that can enhance the visibility and performance of news websites.
How News Content Can Be Featured on Google
The duo initiated the discussion by explaining how news content can be featured on Google. They pointed out two primary locations where Google News content can be exhibited – the Top Stories carousel and the News tab. The Top Stories carousel, a dynamic search feature that showcases pertinent and quality news content, alters its display based on the user’s query, device, and geographical location. Conversely, the News tab specifically targets news-centric results, offering a unique experience from Google News.
Additionally, they explored four standard elements in Search results that content creators can effectively manage:
- Text results:These are the traditional search results that appear as lines of text, typically a headline or page title followed by a short description or snippet. Text results are the most common form of search results and are critical for conveying the essence of the content on the page. For news websites, ensuring that the headline and meta description are clear and compelling is crucial, as these elements can significantly impact click-through rates.
- Rich results: Rich results are enhanced search results that include additional data like ratings, images, or other important information designed to highlight specific aspects of the content and provide users more direct information at a glance. For news content, rich results could include the publication date, author, or even a small thumbnail. Implementing structured data on the site makes it possible for search engines to understand the content better and display it as rich results, thereby increasing visibility and engagement.
- Image results:These results show images that are indexed and deemed relevant to the search queries. For news sites, images associated with news articles can appear in standard search results or within an image search. Ensuring that images are high-quality, relevant, and properly tagged with descriptive alt text helps improve the likelihood that they will appear in image search results, which can drive additional traffic to the website.
- Video Results:Video results include thumbnails and links to video content that are relevant to search queries. For news platforms that produce video content, such as interviews, news recaps, or feature stories, ensuring videos are well-tagged and include accurate descriptions can help them appear prominently in search results. Utilizing platforms like YouTube to host videos and embedding them on the news site can also enhance visibility and engagement.
By effectively managing these four types of search results, news websites can significantly enhance their visibility and performance on Google. This involves optimizing content not just for text search but also for the rich multimedia elements that modern users expect to find.
Waisberg and Prommawin stressed the significance of understanding the target audience and conducting data analysis to decide where efforts should be concentrated.
Insightful SEO Recommendations for News Platforms
The team emphasized the production of user-focused, reliable content while sharing SEO recommendations for news websites. Waisberg and Prommawin underscored the critical role of E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) in prioritizing content. They elucidated these components as follows:
- Experience: The degree to which the content creator possesses necessary real-world or life experience related to the topic.
- Expertise: The level of knowledge or skill the content creator has concerning the topic.
- Authoritativeness: The reputation of the content creator or the website as a trusted source for the topic.
- Trust: Regardless of a content creator’s experience, expertise, and authoritativeness, the trustworthiness of the content is paramount. For instance, a financial scam can discredit even the most credible content.
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On the technical side, Waisberg and Prommawin suggested using structured data to provide publication dates, which can enhance Google’s understanding of the content’s original publication or significant update dates. They also recommended building a website with ongoing news stories and integrating relevant images and videos.
Eligibility Criteria for Google News
To get featured in Top Stories or the News tab, publishers need to comply with Google News’ eligibility standards. These entail high levels of E-E-A-T, a consistent track record of generating news-related content, and adherence to Google News guidelines. Clear information about the authors, publication, and publisher, signifying transparency, is vital to these policies.
Outbound Links, Paywalls, and Other Considerations
Waisberg and Prommawin highlighted the importance of preventing advertising and other promotional materials from dominating the news content and distinguishing paid placements. They cautioned that untagged spammy, paid, or user-generated content links could infringe upon Google’s spam policies.
To ensure searchability, Google needs to be able to crawl and index content behind paywalls. Implementing a meter, paywall, or login wall with relevant structured data can assist Google in distinguishing paywalled content from cloaking.
Finally, they encouraged publishers to visit the Google News Initiative website for a comprehensive understanding of how to achieve success in search.
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