AMA on Google News | Latest Updates on Google News Approved Sites & The News Initiative Training Network

I'm making an official AMA post here for Google News, for those wishing to have me answer questions. Been a professional in this niche for almost 20 years, without really planning to end up where I'm at, but here I am. And the wisdom I gained from working with GNAS , has turned more into a college level education.

just recently, PR WEEK did a whole report on how Branded Posts in Google News , is the future (read here)

And if you have missed my earlier posts on Google News, check these out:

Google News Layout Changed & New Filter Features to Help Local News -
https://www.blackhatworld.com/seo/g...-gnas-news-fact-checking-now-a-thing.1416382/
Highly Cited feature added-
https://www.blackhatworld.com/seo/o...-adds-highly-cited-feature-to-search.1400046/
Google News Generation 1 vs Generation 2-
https://www.blackhatworld.com/seo/g...eration-1-vs-2021s-generation-2-gnas.1345123/
The purpose of all of this is just to keep people and myself abreast on the latest with Google News. I was making multiple posts on this topic but I feel now, it's time to consolidate into one post and keep it updated with the latest.

If you have questions about Google News, post them here and I will respond .

I'll also be adding news about the Google 'News Initiative' program, which is going to launch a WHOLE NEW SEARCH soon because Google's currently organize a massive group of people to do 'fact checking' on articles shared on search.

If not aware, yes, a real manual review of content will soon become normal and a lot of the fake junk of the web, will be eliminated in a grand sweep, very likely.

More soon!

Hello,

it may be a noob question, because i never try gnews sites.
so can you please guide how to start with it.
i have one general niche site already with very good authority. majority of my articles rank on first or 2nd page easily because of authority. (yes, i post content after research and easy to rank but with good volume)
so can you guide me how to make it google news site, as i want to grow this site on very good level,
my target country is india. (general niche website at present)
domain is perfect for real news type site.

Manish Lamrod said:

Hello,

it may be a noob question, because i never try gnews sites.
so can you please guide how to start with it.
i have one general niche site already with very good authority. majority of my articles rank on first or 2nd page easily because of authority. (yes, i post content after research and easy to rank but with good volume)
so can you guide me how to make it google news site, as i want to grow this site on very good level,
my target country is india. (general niche website at present)
domain is perfect for real news type site.

Click to expand...

Simply submit the site via Publisher tool:
https://support.google.com/news/pub...id=637933232008420298-3313436947&rd=1#general
Any site can join but your content will determine if the site flourishes as a part of the network

Here's step by step directions on how to do it:
https://support.google.com/news/publisher-center/answer/9548609?hl=en

Details of your locality will be requested in the process of submitting site

GNews said:

Simply submit the site via Publisher tool:
https://support.google.com/news/pub...id=637933232008420298-3313436947&rd=1#general
Any site can join but your content will determine if the site flourishes as a part of the network

Here's step by step directions on how to do it:
https://support.google.com/news/publisher-center/answer/9548609?hl=en

Details of your locality will be requested in the process of submitting site

Click to expand...

Thanks for reply.

Now my question is,
any website can be part of it, or there should be any specific requirement which we should take care for better approval rate.

Manish Lamrod said:

Thanks for reply.

Now my question is,
any website can be part of it, or there should be any specific requirement which we should take care for better approval rate.

Click to expand...

Yes, any site can apply and possibly be accepted

However, only sites with fresh news content daily, that's Useful /informative - unique will be of value.. You have to have good user retention and lower bounce rates

Anything else, you're pretty much wasting your time in the long run

Might get a fast couple of bucks but you are selling yourself short by putting a lot of energy into a project with no long-term aspirations

UNLESS.. you just need the money now or the money is just an amazing amount, for a limited period

I'm having a hard time on 2 sites I have in google News they are live but none of the post will show in the google news feed. both sites are posting very current top news stories. I also have another domain in google news and that one indexes fine no problems. There are tons for Google support forum post about this. Google does not give you a straight answer about this either. They tell you its your rss feeds buts it not the rss feeds are fine its exactly the same as the other site that's indexing in google news fast. Any reasons to why this happens ?

BoutMine said:

I'm having a hard time on 2 sites I have in google News they are live but none of the post will show in the google news feed. both sites are posting very current top news stories. I also have another domain in google news and that one indexes fine no problems. There are tons for Google support forum post about this. Google does not give you a straight answer about this either. They tell you its your rss feeds buts it not the rss feeds are fine its exactly the same as the other site that's indexing in google news fast. Any reasons to why this happens ?

Click to expand...

Thanks for posting this public. Just for all to know, this is a post to help anyone; so do not DM me questions. You can DM me the website and a notice that you posted a question here, but just that.

Just post here.

I reviewed your site.

1) The #1 issue, you need to only post articles in English. I saw 3 languages (at least) . Not a great idea.

2) The layout does not look genuine. It looks like an RSS feed and not a website that's useful. This could be a penalty.

3) What's your bounce rate and retention rate? How the site looks right now, I'd think it's pretty low.

GNews said:

Thanks for posting this public. Just for all to know, this is a post to help anyone; so do not DM me questions. You can DM me the website and a notice that you posted a question here, but just that.

Just post here.

I reviewed your site.

1) The #1 issue, you need to only post articles in English. I saw 3 languages (at least) . Not a great idea.

2) The layout does not look genuine. It looks like an RSS feed and not a website that's useful. This could be a penalty.

3) What's your bounce rate and retention rate? How the site looks right now, I'd think it's pretty low.

Click to expand...

Ok so thanks for your tips but just so you know I copied the exact steps of a user that has a site in news. I set up my site to mimic his. Now before you say that is the reason my post does not show up in the feed will not be true I say this because I also have another website in google news that is showing up in the google news feed fine and get this all the sites are using the same rss feeds. and before you say its the rss feeds how could that be true there is no filter for those.

BoutMine said:

Ok so thanks for your tips but just so you know I copied the exact steps of a user that has a site in news. I set up my site to mimic his. Now before you say that is the reason my post does not show up in the feed will not be true I say this because I also have another website in google news that is showing up in the google news feed fine and get this all the sites are using the same rss feeds. and before you say its the rss feeds how could that be true there is no filter for those.

Click to expand...

I'm telling you basics to fine tune your site to be a quality Google News site

If I were a part of Google News Initiative (which i may apply to join), I would deny your site immediately.

It looks like a spam farm.

Dont try to be a copycat of a low quality site. Step it up and do things the right way.

Then you wont have to worry why it's not working.

GNews said:

I'm telling you basics to fine tune your site to be a quality Google News site

If I were a part of Google News Initiative (which i may apply to join), I would deny your site immediately.

It looks like a spam farm.

Dont try to be a copycat of a low quality site. Step it up and do things the right way.

Then you wont have to worry why it's not working.

Click to expand...

Im sorry its just hard to follow those rules when its the rules that don't work. Even the staff that works for google are sending out wrong info in every email they said it was my rss feed funny how the same rss feeds are working on the other listed google news site no problems. Its like a generic email they send to everyone google will never tell their employees how there algo works they need to just stop send false info. Thanks for your help but unless you know the exact algo to get in google news you really have no clue. Its only really 3 things they look at before they add you and its 3-10 news post ... your image has to match your website and you have to verify it really that's it to get in google news all that other shit they don't care about.

BoutMine said:

Im sorry its just hard to follow those rules when its the rules that don't work. Even the staff that works for google are sending out wrong info in every email they said it was my rss feed funny how the same rss feeds are working on the other listed google news site no problems. Its like a generic email they send to everyone google will never tell their employees how there algo works they need to just stop send false info. Thanks for your help but unless you know the exact algo to get in google news you really have no clue. Its only really 3 things they look at before they add you and its 3-10 news post ... your image has to match your website and you have to verify it really that's it to get in google news all that other shit they don't care about.

Click to expand...

So you think Google is lying? and your friend with the hack, knows it all?

I think you should re-think your approach. Seriously.

1st. GO BY THE RULES OF GOOLGE

2nd. If you do not, dont be suprised when things get WAY MORE COMPLICATED than they have to be.

Sadly, it seems like nobody can help you because in your mind you dont want to do things any other way. Not even the way Google instructs you and the way the MAJORITY of sites have achieved success.

Yes, there might be a 'loophole' but you will be back to square 1 in a short time , with this attitude and approach.

Hi there,

Do you happen to know what is the insider scoop about content moderation and the definition of "fake junk" is? Seems that falls into anything that isn't mainstream like Reuters, AP, etc. and against the official "narrative" these days (past 5 years especially). Lot's of huge alternative news sites are de-indexed completely in search because they have a different opinion. Are there any alternative news opinion websites going to be included in the future?, or are we headed for even more censoring with decisions of the biased opinions of a few manual reviewers?

GNews said:

So you think Google is lying? and your friend with the hack, knows it all?

I think you should re-think your approach. Seriously.

1st. GO BY THE RULES OF GOOLGE

2nd. If you do not, dont be suprised when things get WAY MORE COMPLICATED than they have to be.

Sadly, it seems like nobody can help you because in your mind you dont want to do things any other way. Not even the way Google instructs you and the way the MAJORITY of sites have achieved success.

Yes, there might be a 'loophole' but you will be back to square 1 in a short time , with this attitude and approach.

Click to expand...

I mean this is Black Hat World right ? So I'm sorry if I'm being a little black hat... I'm sure many white hat sites make it into the google news index and post feed fine, but there is also another way to make it in the index I thought you knew maybe you should be more white hat sites. I'm Looking for the BH way to get in.

Has the popularity of Google news websites declined ? If yes, why ?

onlinemarketer12 said:

Has the popularity of Google news websites declined ? If yes, why ?

Click to expand...

Absolutely not.

Google's giving them more priority than ever in Search .

And they've invested 100s of millions into their 'Google News Initiative" program that's about to have a HUGE EFFECT on search once they get done with organizing their fact checking team. There will be manual reviews of content coming shortly.

Also, the new layout is helping local news companies get more attention in search.

We're just seeing the beginning of what Google News is to be come.

Enserio said:

Hi there,

Do you happen to know what is the insider scoop about content moderation and the definition of "fake junk" is? Seems that falls into anything that isn't mainstream like Reuters, AP, etc. and against the official "narrative" these days (past 5 years especially). Lot's of huge alternative news sites are de-indexed completely in search because they have a different opinion. Are there any alternative news opinion websites going to be included in the future?, or are we headed for even more censoring with decisions of the biased opinions of a few manual reviewers?

Click to expand...

"Fake Junk" = I've never heard of a specific reference. Instead, it seems to reference all the click bait news site people were making tons of money from, posting satirical/slanderous articles.

Honestly I'm surprised its' lasted as long as it has . I knew the people behind some of the biggest fake news sites Out at one point. They were making like $10k+ a day at times, more-so from using Facebook fan pages.

Some people went WAY TOO FAR in creating all that spam news and so many people were believing the things people spread, it was insane. The "clone" news stories were nuts to me. I went to high school with 2 guys who created one of the biggest celeb clone stories to hit the web.


THe new "Google News Initiative" program is currently underway. Google's basically contracting/hiring people to start manually reviewing all news that passes their system. And this will effect regular search as well.

BoutMine said:

I mean this is Black Hat World right ? So I'm sorry if I'm being a little black hat... I'm sure many white hat sites make it into the google news index and post feed fine, but there is also another way to make it in the index I thought you knew maybe you should be more white hat sites. I'm Looking for the BH way to get in.

Click to expand...

You're actually in the "White Hat SEO" section of the forum.

GNews said:

"Fake Junk" = I've never heard of a specific reference.

Click to expand...

This is the basic thing is defining the problem, as you know with problem solving- defining the problem is crucial- so the term "Fake Junk" could be some story about a giant squid swallowing a cruise ship- it could be written as sarcasm too or funny- but when Twitter bans the Babylon Bee- we are in trouble all of us. People that are doing that are not intelligent or simply agenda driven. Or celebrity gossip garbage- it sure sells- some real fake stuff there.

Fact Checkers most of them are biased. Google shadow bans some really popular websites that produce decent stories they source, opinions etc that go against the silicon valley + gov + msm narrative being echoed in unison. It used to be Reuters and AP had injected no opinions with their stories, not sure what year that changed, but it isn't reporting. It seems to be reporting, with activism inserted inside the paragraphs for a writer to throw jabs and opinions instead of reporting the reality, the facts from both sides as they know them, not twisting them.

I have seen many changes due to my age, but nothing like we have currently- ever. I am purposely leaving out certain news channels- but they all have agenda's.

My hope is for young people like yourself to look at the big picture, and to advocate for allowing ALL real news articles to be spread and presenting all sides of an argument.

Covering up stories that don't fit with the writers own beliefs or politically- need to be told and not censored.
Unlike now which is crazy.

Look at all the Twitter mess of banning people who challenge the "system". People have become tribal or like two opposing boxers getting in the ring snarling at each other- and emotionally charged rather than rationally driven.

Google news should be cleaned up so it is an example of a neutral informational platform. The EU has brought some suits against the search manipulation in commerce, too bad the US doesn't.

Journalism as a profession has being weaponized imho. I read ton's daily of news articles and crazy headlines, some click bait crap to see who wrote it and what publication published it. The propaganda is awful, and real investigative reporters are not being given a platform. When the manual reviews are done, hopefully the reviewers are not the same agenda driven "fact checkers" we have now been seeing.

Glad you are interested in improving Google News, and posted this!

Here's the big news floating around. Google News, will soon hire/induct a group of 100, well-experienced News and Content creators to form what's being titled as "Fact Check Academy." This group will be used to train others, as rapidly multiply efforts to help fact check News content submitted by Google News Approved Sites (GNAS).

These people will be used to help rid Google News of 'fake junk' aka 'fake news.' Fake click-bait titles and over-done satire news may soon be eradicated from search. And if the satirical/questionable page is allowed to stay, it will likely be highlighed with a tag that highlights it's lack of credibility.

Those selected for the "GNFCA" or Google News Fact Check Academy will be trained at a designated facility for 3 days. The program will be a live-in residency, where Google's elite will 'train the trainers.'

This is part of the Google News Initiave Training Network (GNITN) , currently located in India. The GNITN was just expanded into 5 languages, which indicates Google wants to spread this "Fact Check Academy" across the globe. Languages recently expanded into, include: Punjabi, Assamese, Gujarati, Odia, and Malayalam.

Those interested in being a part of Fact Check Academy have until July 30th to apply. Applicants with experience in journalism or data will be given priority.

Started in 2018, the Google News Initiative Training Network in India, has trained nearly 40,000 reporters, editors, media students, and media educators in nearly 10 languages.

Many are still sleeping on what Google News is becoming, but it will soon be closer to everything.

GNews said:

Absolutely not.

Google's giving them more priority than ever in Search .

And they've invested 100s of millions into their 'Google News Initiative" program that's about to have a HUGE EFFECT on search once they get done with organizing their fact checking team. There will be manual reviews of content coming shortly.

Also, the new layout is helping local news companies get more attention in search.

We're just seeing the beginning of what Google News is to be come.

Click to expand...

Manual review for site approval or of all the content being posted on such websites ?

onlinemarketer12 said:

Manual review for site approval or of all the content being posted on such websites ?

Click to expand...

For the content being posted.

I think they will be reviewing sites that fall under certain metrics;

There's a formula they've developed and they are training 100 people to train more people. So it's really a big deal.

And they're also inducting Journalism teams from the US into the Google News Initiative Training Network. The last induction was of 22 media/journalism groups from around the US and that was within the last 2 months.