Revealed in its latest blog, Google is rolling out ‘News Showcase’, a brand new development to Google News products. As more than 90% of the publications that are part of News Showcase represent local or community news, this positive change will allow local publishers to appear in the News Showcase panel, whilst helping users source the local news stories that matter most to them.
What are the benefits of News Showcase to publishers?
Google has been working to ensure its products work smoothly for existing publishers which includes Iliffe Media in the United Kingdom. With new improvements to ranking systems, authoritative and relevant publishers will appear more frequently alongside National publications in Google’s features such as Top Stories. Readers will be able to see how national stories in Google News can impact them locally as part of this development.
Google News gives authority to domains/publishers who feature in Google News and any brands who appear within stories featured in Google News are in essence, given a stamp of authority from Google which is seen as a strong trust signal to readers alike.
Google is supporting local publishers as part of its ongoing programme called Google News Initiative (GNI). This is a free program aimed at helping small and mid-sized news publishers around the world develop the capabilities required to accelerate the growth of their businesses online.
So what are the benefits of News Showcase to users?
Google News is now giving local publishers an opportunity to feature more frequently alongside national publications. Because of this, users will see within News Showcase the local news that matters to them. Google places an emphasis on ‘relevance’, and ‘authoritative’ news sources and with the latest developments including a carousel of news stories in Google Search directly related to the users search, this will compile those news sources into one place.
This change enables users to find the relevant local news they want to read around their searches, the publishers sharing the benefit by receiving clicks and on-page engagement. This carousel is also available globally in all languages.
These changes are important for Google as it hopes to put help users connect within their own community by easily finding the local stories happening in their area.
Why we liked this article
- Google News Showcase gives local publishers a way to show their editorial expertise and explain important issues to readers.
- The developments will favour local news publishers by having their panels brought into the local news section of Google.
- Google News is now giving local publishers an opportunity to feature more frequently alongside national publications in Top Stories.
- Google is dedicated to helping local publishers in a fiercely competitive digital space.
1 https://blog.google/products/news/local-news-showcase-product-updates/
Author spike.digital