Google removed its documentation on manually adding posts to be included in Google News. An announcement via new documentation says that publishers can no longer manually add their sites to be considered for Google News, but existing publishers will continue to have access to the personalization features, but those will also be removed soon.
Google Publisher Center
The Google Publisher Center was a service that allowed publishers to submit their site’s content to Google News. Publishers could also submit a constantly updated feed that would alert Google of recently published articles. Google could also use a sitemap to discover recently published news articles.
Although Google offered publishers a way to submit web pages to Google for display in Google News, Google never promised to display these sites.
Google has also maintained that they had automated ways to include content in Google News.
Google News inclusion system
Google removed the ability for publishers to manually submit websites to be considered for inclusion in Google News. The process is moving to a fully automated system of discovery and inclusion.
The new system will be launched at the end of the year.
The “Submit your post for review” documentation has been removed and replaced with a 404 response web page.
New documentation
Google’s new documentation explains that publishers will no longer be able to make manual submissions, and that current publishers will continue to have access to submission tools, but that those tools will be removed sometime later in 2024.
From the new Publisher Center documentation:
“As of today, publishers can no longer add posts to the Publisher Center. We’re making this change as part of a transition to rolling out auto-generated post pages later this year.”
The new documentation further explains that current publishers with access to the Publisher Center will continue to have access to customization features, but that access will be removed at some point.
“What’s next for publishing pages?
By adding a post to the Publisher Center, publishers were able to manually create a home page for users to follow. Publishers with manually created publication pages will continue to have access to the customization features until later this year, when the pages will be automatically created. Users will continue to be able to follow their favorite posts.”
SearchLiaison explains the reasons for the change
Google search link posted this explanation on X (formerly known as Twitter):
“To clarify (some people get it, I know, but others get confused)…
Content is automatically considered for Google News and News Surfaces, as it has been since December 2019. This has not changed.
Publisher Center provided a way to create landing pages manually, which somehow didn’t take into account the content in general for Google News and news surfaces. Some who made these pages would get confused and think that source page = content in Google News and news surfaces. Over the years we have tried to make it more clear…
Despite this, some still get confused because… yes, it is confusing! So part of this change is removing that confusion. Small and large sites are still automatically considered…
Also, anticipating those who say we should do more to include more news sites; moving to automatic consideration has helped, compared to the past where someone would have to know to apply.
That said, yes, there is always more we can do; it’s something I insist on (and I’m not alone), especially in cases where sites don’t show up in news queries at all, but are referenced by others who do. I’d really like to see us improve on that.”
How sites can be included in Google News
Sites that want to be included in Google News must comply with Google’s content policies. Google then uses algorithmic signals to determine suitability for display on Google News, as well as on additional surfaces of Google News, such as Top News and the News tab in search results.
Google News Ranking Signals
Understanding the ranking signals Google uses for Google News is more important now than ever.
Google lists general factors as part of the Google News ranking signals and a separate group of factors for personalized news (this is the “For You” tab in Google News).
General Google News ranking factors
Relevance of content Prominence Authority Freshness Location Language
Ranking factors for personalized news
Interests Usability User preferences by topics or publishers
That’s the extent of the advice Google offers on what you need to know about Google News ranking factors.
A statement reads:
“You can improve your site’s ranking by maintaining a Google-friendly website.
…While we’re happy to help you with technical issues on Google News, we can’t offer you much feedback on rankings. We appreciate your understanding.”
Read Google’s recently updated documentation for eligibility for Google News:
Update of publication pages
Read the Google News content policies:
Google News Content Policies
See an archive of the missing Publisher Center support page:
Archive.org – Submit your post for review
Featured image by Shutterstock/robuart
