SEO best practices for news sites

TL;DR

In this video, Daniel Waisberg and Cherry Prommawin from Google discuss SEO best practices tailored for news sites. The video covers strategies to increase content visibility on Google Search and News surfaces, focusing on eligibility for Google News, the importance of EEAT principles, and effective use of structured data and website structure to optimize search results.

Transcript

Hi, I'm Daniel Waisberg. Hi, I'm Cherry Prommawin. We're both Search Advocates at Google. We're here to talk about best practices for new sites. In this video, we'll talk about how you can position your content to appear on Google Search results and News surfaces. We'll provide some ideas that will help you increase the visibility of your content ... Read More

Key Insights

• Understanding the different ways content can be featured on Google, such as text, image, video, or other types, is crucial for news sites to optimize their visibility.
• Google News content can appear in Top Stories and the News tab on Google Search, and eligibility for these features requires adherence to specific guidelines.
• SEO best practices for news websites include focusing on Google Search Essentials, which emphasize creating helpful, reliable, and people-first content.
• The EEAT principles—Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness—are key factors in determining the prioritization of content on Google Search.
• Providing clear publication dates and using structured data can help Google identify when a page was published or updated, improving content visibility.
• Website structure is important for ongoing news stories, with options for using the same page for updates or multiple pages linked effectively.
• Images and videos should be relevant to the news article, with important information accessible in text format to ensure crawlability by search engines.
• To be eligible for Google News, content must meet criteria such as high levels of EEAT, consistent history of news content, and compliance with Google News policies.

Questions & Answers

Q: What are the different ways news content can appear on Google?

News content can appear on Google in various formats including text, images, videos, and other result types. Additionally, news content can be featured in specific sections like Top Stories and the News tab, which are part of Google Search results. Each format requires different optimization strategies to enhance visibility.

Q: How can a news site become eligible for Google News?

To be eligible for Google News, a site must adhere to several criteria, including high levels of EEAT (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness), a consistent history of producing news-related content, and compliance with Google News policies. Transparency, clear publication dates, and author information are essential components.

Q: What are the core components of Google Search Essentials for news websites?

Google Search Essentials for news websites focus on creating content that is helpful, reliable, and people-first. This involves prioritizing content based on EEAT principles, ensuring content is primarily created for users rather than search engines, and following best practices for structured data and publication dates.

Q: Why is structured data important for news websites?

Structured data is important for news websites because it helps Google better understand the content, including publication dates and updates. By using structured data, news sites can specify dates and time zones, aiding Google's crawler in accurately identifying when articles are published or significantly updated, thus improving search visibility.

Q: What role do images and videos play in news content optimization?

Images and videos are crucial for news content optimization as they enhance engagement and relevance. It's important to use images that are relevant to the article and ensure that key information is accessible in text format for crawlability. Avoiding large logos or watermarks that obscure images is also recommended.

Q: How should a news website structure its content for ongoing stories?

For ongoing stories, news websites can either use the same page for updates, ensuring dates are clear and follow guidelines, or publish multiple linked pages. Each approach should include timestamps or publishing dates, and a hub page can effectively link to new pieces, facilitating easy navigation for users and search engines.

Q: What are the key Google News policies that sites must comply with?

Key Google News policies include maintaining high levels of transparency, providing clear author and publication information, and ensuring that advertising does not exceed news content. Sites must clearly distinguish paid placements and avoid excessive ads or pop-ups that hinder user experience, which can affect eligibility for Google News.

Q: How can a news site manage outgoing links to avoid spam policy violations?

A news site can manage outgoing links by using rel attribute values like 'sponsored' or 'ugc' to indicate the relationship with linked pages. This helps prevent spam policy violations. Tagging links appropriately, especially those that are spammy, paid, or user-generated, ensures compliance with Google's guidelines and maintains site integrity.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• The video provides a comprehensive guide to SEO best practices for news websites, focusing on increasing content visibility on Google Search and News surfaces. It emphasizes the importance of EEAT principles and structured data to optimize search results.

• Daniel Waisberg and Cherry Prommawin discuss how news content can appear on Google, including in Top Stories and the News tab, and provide insights on eligibility for Google News. The video highlights the significance of creating people-first content.

• Key strategies include using Google Search Essentials, following publication date guidelines, and structuring websites effectively for ongoing stories. The video also covers the importance of relevant images and videos and maintaining transparency to comply with Google News policies.