Prepping for Google News

animalstyle

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I want to take my authority site to the next level. The Site has a small news section that I want to break out and improve. I understand technically what needs to be done based on G's guidelines. Few questions beyond that:
  • I fear a thin content penalty that might come from posting bite size news updates that don't have much substance. Is this a legit concern?
  • The industry I am in does not have a ton going on, it's pretty small. I am thinking 1-2 unique news updates a week would be an average frequency if I kept up with everything, is this too low?
  • Let's say that frequency is OK. How long should I be posting at that frequency before applying for G News?
  • Are the traffic benefits worth the work? What are people seeing numbers wise once accepted and posting regularly?
 
I fear a thin content penalty that might come from posting bite size news updates that don't have much substance. Is this a legit concern?

Don't post bite sized news? What are you referring to as bite sized anyway? 200+ words shouldn't be an issue from what I've seen.

I've seen some sites do large amounts of quoting, even entire articles. Adding a sentence or two at the top and at the bottom is enough. I remember seeing Matt Cutts say that. But you could add your commentary all throughout article you copy and paste to make them unique or at least add value.
 
I think the whole thin content idea just has me being cautious. I was thinking I'd aim for between 3-400 word minimums for news. Sounds like I'll be good
 
Wanted to bump this one as I've got the setup for G-News in place. I have about 30 news articles total spread out over about a year period. I plan on stepping it up now and including ~5-7 news pieces a week.

My question is how long would be best to be running at this new publishing rate before applying?
 
For anyone who might have experience, is there any downside to having your Google News application rejected?
 
The only thing I've ever heard is that you have to have a certain number of authors and a masthead of sorts where there's editors, authors, journalists, etc. You have to look legit (not necessarily be legit). It's all about appearances there.

I've never read anything about a minimum publishing rate but I'd think I'd want to at least be hitting once a day if not three times. I have no clue what the true expectations are, but that's where I'd feel comfortable.

Did you get rejected? My guess is you could just reapply again later. I doubt there's any permanent blacklist unless you get in and abuse the program.
 
For anyone who might have experience, is there any downside to having your Google News application rejected?

The only downside is that after a rejected application you have to wait (two months IIRC) before sending another application.
 
I haven't applied yet. My industry is too small to really have multiple, daily posts and I don't have any other writers yet.

I am thinking of applying and seeing if G recognizes that my site is small, but unique in the content it contains. Its possible they just won't be interested in having me, I'm not about to fake something to get in there, and I don't want to shoot myself in the foot by applying.

I think I'll give it a bit and apply next month just to see.

Thanks for the advice
 
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