How to optimize for Google News!

I have a website which is a google news source

[derekwong28]

I have a website which is a google news source. Any stories on it will automatically appear in Google news after a few hours. Despite this, the traffic is minimal but I am told it can go into tens of thousands when it hits the frontpage.

I wonder if anybody have any idea of how to optimize for Google News? Should we follow what is currently on the frontpage and write the headlines accordingly?

[vincevincevince]

There is a complex algorithm which is rumoured to include:-

- How frequently you break stories which turn out to be large
- How frequently you show direct copies of stories
- The size of your editorial team
- The sources you cite

Remember that clicks are tracked with Google News, so that may well be a factor.

Doing well seems very much weighted toward being a good source of news. Search for and research your own stories, be the source that breaks the news of a new development in your field. If you are monitoring press releases and wire services, make sure that you can type fast. Break a press release to Google News before other journalists have finished reading it. Experiment with breaking it with just a paragraph (enough for a snippet in Google News) and then adding the rest of the article as you write it.

[derekwong28]

Thanks, this is definitely a new and interesting challenge. Rather different to SEO and PPC marketing!

[cheezdoodle]

Any stories on it will automatically appear in Google news after a few hours.

hours? For us it seems to be a few minutes at most. Strange.

I actually get very good traffic from google news, it makes up a large part of my traffic from google in general. The key for us is using key words that a lot of people will be looking for and using them in the stories.

Just looking at the keywords that people use to find your articles through your stats can help you optomize for the future I think.

[TearingHairOut]

One small tip: Don't mention your own site's name in the content of articles. The Google News algo seems to have a filter that weeds out anything that might be self-publicity.

For example, don't write: "A spokesperson for the company told mysite.com that.."

Instead use something like "A spokesperson for the company told this website that..."

[flowermark]

Do you have to submit your site to Google News or does it just pick it up directly?

Once in a while our stories get picked up by topix, but that's about it.

Are there certain things I should put in the URL or the article itself?

Does it help if the url is: www.webmasterworld.com/breaking-news/article23.html

Does it help if the article starts off like this:

December 31, 2005 (Washington DC News) -

[cheezdoodle]

If you go to the about us (or something) on google news, you should see a place to submit your site for consideration.