Story Based Question
Imagine you’re managing a tech blog and just published a post about a new smartphone release. You check Google for your article and notice it appears in organic search results but not in the Google News section. On the other hand, large news outlets are featured in the “Top Stories” carousel for the same topic. Why is that? You wonder, how does Google News work differently compared to organic search?
Exact Answer
Google News focuses on surfacing fresh, authoritative, and timely content in the “Top Stories” section, while organic search prioritizes content that is evergreen, relevant, and optimized for keywords over time.
Explanation
Google News and organic search serve distinct purposes. Google News is designed for current events and breaking news, relying on signals like recency, publication authority, and user engagement to rank stories. It features a mix of articles from trusted news sources and uses algorithms that emphasize the freshness of content and relevance to trending topics.
Organic search, on the other hand, evaluates content based on long-term value. It focuses on signals like keyword optimization, backlinks, domain authority, and user experience. While news articles can appear in organic search, they may not rank well if they lack evergreen appeal or fail to meet SEO best practices for long-term visibility.
In the case of your tech blog, even if your article is insightful, it might not be optimized for Google News if you didn’t submit your site to Google Publisher Center or follow News-specific SEO practices like structured data and rapid updates.
Example
Let’s revisit your smartphone release article. Here’s how it might perform differently in the two systems:
- Google News: If your headline reads, “Breaking: New Smartphone X Released Today,” and you include schema markup, publish the article quickly, and optimize for timeliness, it could appear in the “Top Stories” carousel.
- Organic Search: Over time, your article may rank for search terms like “Smartphone X Features” or “Best Smartphones of 2024.” This depends on keyword targeting, backlinks, and content quality rather than recency.
By understanding these differences, you can tailor your strategy. For breaking news, focus on speed and News SEO. For organic search, aim for thorough, keyword-rich content with long-term relevance.