Google News SEO: How to Get Your Articles in Google News and Top Stories

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Google News SEO is the work of making news content visible in Google News, in the Top stories carousel of Search and in the News tab. It concerns media, but also companies that publish real news in their field: product launches, studies, market updates. This guide covers the rules, the technical setup and the editorial practices that matter, based on Google's own documentation.

How does Google News choose articles?

Google's systems select and rank news content automatically, looking at relevance to the query, freshness, prominence of the story, and the expertise and trustworthiness of the source. Publishers do not pay to appear. To be eligible at all, content must comply with the Google News policies, which add news-specific rules to Google Search's general and spam policies.

What do Google News policies require?

Google's policies ask news sources to help readers understand who wrote and published the content: clear publication dates and bylines, information about authors, the publication and the publisher, the company or network behind it, and contact information. They prohibit dangerous, deceptive, harassing or hateful content, manipulated media, sexually explicit and violent extremist content, among others. Ads must not exceed editorial content, sponsored material must be clearly disclosed, and headlines or previews must not promise what the article does not deliver.

The technical setup for Google News SEO

1. A news sitemap

A news sitemap lists only articles published in the last two days, with up to 1,000 news entries per file. Required tags: the publication name (matching your name on Google News) and language, the original publication date and the article title. Update the same file as you publish, rather than creating new ones. The free sitemap checker validates the file.

2. Article structured data

Mark up articles with Article structured data (NewsArticle where relevant): headline, images, datePublished, dateModified and author. It helps Google understand dates and authorship. The schema generator writes the code.

3. Dates, bylines and author pages

Show the publication date and, when relevant, the update date visibly near the headline, and link each byline to an author page with the person's background. Avoid changing dates without a real update.

4. Fast, stable pages

News readers are often on mobile. Keep pages light, images optimized, and URLs stable once published.

5. Large, relevant images

Google recommends large, high-quality images for Discover, at least 1,200 pixels wide, and news surfaces display them too; reference the image in your markup. See our guide to Google Discover, which shares many signals with news surfaces.

Editorial practices that help

• Speed on fresh topics: be among the first credible sources on news in your beat; watch Google Trends for rising topics.
• Original information: quotes, data, documents and analysis that others then cite.
• Updates on the same URL for developing stories, with a visible update time.
• Topic hubs that link your coverage of a recurring subject.
• Experience and expertise: named authors with a track record on the topic (see E-E-A-T).

Can a company blog appear in Google News?

Yes, if it publishes genuine news with editorial standards: dated announcements, studies with data, analyses of events in its industry, with named authors and transparent ownership. Promotional posts and evergreen guides are not news; they belong in classic SEO (see evergreen content). Companies with announcements can also reach journalists through press releases, which often end up in news results through the media that cover them.

News content and AI answers

AI assistants that browse the web lean on recent, authoritative sources for current events, and news articles are frequent citations. A clear, factual lead paragraph and named sources make your articles easier to quote. Read GEO vs SEO for the method and track mentions with AI mention tracking.

The bottom line

Google News rewards transparent, original and fast reporting, supported by clean technical signals. Follow the policies, publish a news sitemap and Article markup, show dates and bylines, and cover a beat consistently. For evergreen content alongside your news, Sorank, SEO and GEO software that runs on autopilot, writes and publishes optimized articles; see the Sorank plans, with a 3-day free trial.