How to Submit Your Blog to Google News (Complete Step-by-Step Guide 2025)


Why Submitting to Google News Matters
If your blog publishes timely, original, high-quality content, getting into Google News can dramatically increase visibility, referral traffic, and domain authority. Google News surfaces articles to users actively seeking news and current information — and for niche technical sites (like programming or developer-focused blogs), being approved by Google News means your tutorials, how-tos, and analysis reach a broader, engaged audience. This guide walks you step-by-step through everything you need to prepare, submit, and optimize your blog for Google News approval in 2025.

Who this guide is for

  • Bloggers who already have 50+ original articles and want to submit their site.
  • Site owners who want a practical checklist and ready-to-use templates (author bio, editorial policy, corrections policy).
  • SEO and content managers aiming to increase news-tier traffic.

Core keywords (use these naturally): submit blog to Google News, Google News submission, Google Publisher Center, news sitemap, Google News approval.


Part 1 — Pre-Submission Checklist (Make sure these are done first) Before you submit, you want to ensure your site meets the baseline expectations Google looks for. Think of this as the “must-fix” list.

  1. Publishing volume & originality
  • Have 50+ original articles (not copy/paste). Google rarely approves sites without consistent, original coverage.
  • Prefer article length of 800–1500+ words for in-depth pieces; short snippets reduce approval chance.
  1. Author transparency
  • Every article must show a real author name (not “admin”).
  • Create author profile pages with photo, bio, and links to credentials/social accounts. Example slug:
    https://yourdomain.com/author/khushal-tank/
  1. Required site pages (must have)
  • About Us
  • Contact Us (working contact form + email)
  • Privacy Policy (GDPR friendly)
  • Terms & Conditions (basic)
  • Editorial Guidelines (how you produce content)
  • Corrections Policy (how you correct mistakes)
  • Fact-checking Policy (if applicable)
  • Ethics Policy (journalistic standards)
  1. Technical foundations
  • Mobile-friendly (responsive) — pass Google’s Mobile-Friendly test.
  • Fast page load times — aim for <3s on mobile. Implement caching and compress images.
  • No paywalls blocking Googlebot access to article content.
  • SSL (HTTPS) active.
  1. News sitemap & regular sitemap
  • Create a News Sitemap (only pages you want in Google News).
  • Keep a regular XML sitemap for Search Console too.
  1. Structured data
  • Use Article schema where appropriate: headline, author, datePublished, image, publisher.
  • Do NOT use AMP as a requirement — but if you support AMP, ensure it’s correct.
  1. Site structure & categories
  • Clean category structure (e.g., Programming, Tutorials, Reviews).
  • Use category feeds if you plan sectioning inside Publisher Center.
  1. No spammy or deceptive content
  • No auto-generated low-quality pages.
  • No mass duplicated content.
  • No misleading headlines.

If any of the above are missing, fix them first. Google News reviewers look for E-A-T (Expertise, Authority, Trust), transparency, and quality. Now let’s walk through the exact submission process.


Part 2 — How to Create a Google News (Publisher Center) Publication — Step-by-Step

Step 1 — Verify site ownership in Google Search Console

  1. Go to Google Search Console (search.google.com/search-console).
  2. Add your website property (use the canonical https://www.yourdomain.com version).
  3. Verify ownership via the recommended method (HTML file upload, DNS TXT record, or meta tag).
    Why: Publisher Center uses Search Console to confirm ownership automatically.

Step 2 — Create your news sitemap
Your news sitemap differs from a standard sitemap: it should include only the fresh pages you want Google News to crawl.

Minimal news sitemap structure (example snippet):

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<urlset xmlns="http://www.sitemaps.org/schemas/sitemap/0.9"
        xmlns:news="http://www.google.com/schemas/sitemap-news/0.9">
  <url>
    <loc>https://yourdomain.com/article-url</loc>
    <news:news>
      <news:publication>
        <news:name>Your Publication Name</news:name>
        <news:language>en</news:language>
      </news:publication>
      <news:publication_date>2025-11-20</news:publication_date>
      <news:title>Exact Article Title</news:title>
    </news:news>
  </url>
</urlset>

Tips:

  • Update the news sitemap frequently (daily or within 48 hours of new posts).
  • Tools: WordPress: use Yoast SEO News add-on or a News Sitemap plugin. For custom sites, generate server-side.

Step 3 — Add sitemaps to Search Console

  • In Search Console, open your property → Sitemaps → add news-sitemap.xml.
  • Verify it parses cleanly (no errors). Fix any 404s or blocked pages.

Step 4 — Prepare Publisher Center account & create a publication

  1. Visit: https://publishercenter.google.com/ and sign in with the Google account you used for Search Console.
  2. Click Create Publication. Fill in:
    • Publication name: (your brand)
    • Primary website: https://www.yourdomain.com
    • Language & Country: choose primary audience.
  3. Publisher Center will attempt to verify via Search Console. If verified, proceed.

Step 5 — Configure your publication (logo, description, categories)

  • Add logos:
    • Square: 512×512 px PNG
    • Rectangular: 1000×250 px PNG
  • Add a clear description (one or two paragraphs). Use primary keyword naturally.
  • Add categories (e.g., Technology, Programming).

Step 6 — Add sections (feeds) to Google News
Sections are how your publication maps content into Google News categories.

Options:

  • RSS or Atom Feed (e.g., /feed or category feed)
  • URL list or Google News sitemap

Recommended: Use category feeds:

https://yourdomain.com/category/programming/feed
https://yourdomain.com/category/tutorials/feed

In Publisher Center:

  • Go to your publication → Google News → Sections → Add Section.
  • Type: Feed. Paste feed URL. Name the section. Make public.

Step 7 — Upload contact details & coverage settings

  • Provide a valid contact email (editor@yourdomain.com).
  • Specify distribution area: Worldwide or Country level.
  • Add content verticals (if asked).

Step 8 — Request review / Submit for publication

  • In Publisher Center, go to Google News → Publishing → Request Review (or Request Approval).
  • Reviewers will check content quality, authorship, policies, and sitemap.

Step 9 — Wait & monitor

  • Typical review time: 2–6 weeks (sometimes up to 8 weeks).
  • Keep publishing fresh content while waiting. If rejected, Publisher Center will provide reason(s).

Part 3 — Exact Templates You Can Copy (Save time: paste & edit)

A. Author profile template (paste into /author/your-name/)

Title: Khushal Tank — Founder & Lead Writer, MyProgramming

Bio:
Khushal Tank is a full-stack web developer with 8+ years building PHP, Webflow, and WordPress solutions. He writes in-depth tutorials and practical guides to help developers ship faster. Khushal’s work focuses on performance, accessibility, and real-world code examples. Connect: [LinkedIn URL] | [GitHub URL]

Author page elements:

  • Author photo (200×200)
  • Short bio (50–80 words)
  • Longer bio (150–250 words) with credentials and notable publications
  • Links to social profiles
  • Contact email (optional)

B. Editorial Guidelines (required page)

Title: Editorial Guidelines — MyProgramming

Intro: Our goal is to publish accurate, original, and helpful programming content. We follow these editorial standards to ensure quality.

Standards:

  1. Originality: We publish only original articles. Reposts or aggregations are labeled clearly and cited.
  2. Sources & attribution: All external code snippets, quotations, or data must be cited.
  3. Fact-checking: Authors verify code examples locally and provide tested snippets.
  4. Corrections: If a factual error is found, we publish a correction notice in the article and update the content.
  5. Conflicts of interest: We disclose sponsorship or affiliate links.

C. Corrections Policy (simple, effective)

Title: Corrections Policy

If we identify a material error in our content, we will:

  • Update the article with the correction and the date of correction.
  • At the top or bottom of the article, insert a short correction note explaining what changed.

D. Privacy Policy (short sample — adjust for legal needs)
Include a plain summary and link to full policy. Use generator as baseline but personalize.


Part 4 — SEO & Content Tips (To Improve Approval Odds) Google looks for trustworthy, expert content. These steps improve that signal.

  1. Use structured Article schema
    Include JSON-LD with headline, image, author, datePublished, publisher. Example:
<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Article",
  "headline": "How to Submit Your Blog to Google News",
  "image": ["https://yourdomain.com/images/thumbnail.jpg"],
  "author": {
    "@type": "Person",
    "name": "Khushal Tank",
    "url": "https://yourdomain.com/author/khushal-tank/"
  },
  "publisher": {
    "@type": "Organization",
    "name": "MyProgramming",
    "logo": {"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://yourdomain.com/logo-512.png"}
  },
  "datePublished": "2025-11-25"
}
</script>
  1. Headlines & metadata
  • Use clear, accurate headlines. No sensationalism.
  • Use meta description with keywords but keep it natural.
  1. On-page author signal
  • Show author name and link to author page on every article.
  • Include author bio at bottom.
  1. Internal linking & categories
  • Link related posts with helpful anchor text.
  • Use clear category pages and ensure category pages are crawlable (if you plan to include them).
  1. Images and captions
  • Use high-quality images and add captions where necessary. Images must have alt tags.
  1. Avoid aggressive monetization on article pages
  • Too many ads, popups, or interstitials that obscure content can hurt approval chances.

Part 5 — Common Rejection Reasons & How to Fix Them. If Google rejects your application, don’t panic. Below are common reasons with fixes.

  1. “Insufficient original content” — Fix: publish more long-form, original pieces (800–1,500+ words), show evidence of expertise.
  2. “No author transparency” — Fix: create author profile pages with photo, bio, and credentials.
  3. “Site not news-oriented / not timely” — Fix: emphasize newsworthy angles (industry updates, timely analysis), and create clear sections for news-type content.
  4. “Technical issues (sitemap errors, blocked pages)” — Fix: validate sitemaps in Search Console and fix robots.txt or noindex errors.
  5. “Too many ads or interstitials” — Fix: reduce intrusive ads or move them below the fold.
  6. “Thin content” — Fix: expand articles, add examples, code, and references.

Part 6 — Publishing Cadence & Content Strategy (After Submission) Approval is only the start. To make the most of Google News:

  1. Publishing frequency
  • Aim for 3–7 articles weekly, depending on capacity. News favors sites that publish frequently and consistently.
  1. Mix content types
  • Tutorials (evergreen) + timely news/opinions (current) + analysis (unique perspective).
  1. Editorial calendar
  • Plan themes for each week: e.g., Monday: Industry updates; Wednesday: Deep tutorial; Friday: Tool roundup.
  1. Social & distribution
  • Share new posts on Twitter/X, LinkedIn, and relevant developer forums to drive initial engagement.

Part 7 — After Submission: Monitoring & Troubleshooting

  1. Publisher Center status
  • Check Publisher Center regularly for messages and reason codes.
  1. Search Console coverage
  • Monitor indexing of news sitemaps and speed.
  1. Google News performance
  • In Google Search Console, check “Performance” → filter to News to see impressions & clicks from news surfaces.
  1. If rejected
  • Fix the issues highlighted, then resubmit after at least a week of changes and new content.

Part 8 — SEO-Friendly Article Template (Use for future posts)
Use this template to draft articles that meet Google News expectations.

Title (60–80 chars) — include primary keyword
Meta description (120–155 chars) — include keyword
H1 — clear article title
Intro (50–100 words) — what the article will cover
H2 — Why this matters (short)
H2 — Step-by-step guide (numbered steps with code/examples)
H2 — Common pitfalls & solutions
H3 — Example code / demo (if applicable)
H2 — Conclusion & next steps
Author box (photo + 2-3 line bio)
Publish date & last updated date


Part 9 — FAQ (Quick answers to common questions)

Q: How long until Google News approves my site?

A: Typically 2–6 weeks; sometimes up to 8 weeks. Approval depends on content quality and compliance.

Q: Do I need AMP?

A: No. AMP is not required for Google News approval, but if you use AMP, it must be implemented correctly.

Q: How often must the news sitemap be updated?

A: Update it whenever you publish newsworthy content — ideally within 48 hours of posting.

Q: Can I include sponsored or affiliate content?

A: Yes, but disclose it clearly. Heavy sponsored content that looks like news without disclosure can hurt approval.

Q: Will being in Google News improve SEO?

A: Yes — being in Google News can increase referral traffic and visibility, which indirectly helps SEO through engagement and backlinks.

Part 10 — Quick Checklist (Copy & Use)

Before submitting your website to Google News, make sure all the items below are completed.

Google News Approval Checklist (2025 Edition)

Content Requirements

  • Minimum 50+ high-quality articles
  • Articles published consistently (at least 3–5 per week)
  • Clear author names on every post
  • Author bio pages published
  • No AI-generated spam or duplicate content
  • Each article structured with H1, H2, H3, bullets, images
  • Articles written in a journalistic tone (not affiliate oriented)

Technical Requirements

  • Website loads under 2.5 seconds
  • Mobile-friendly layout (Core Web Vitals passing)
  • Secure HTTPS
  • No intrusive ads or pop-ups
  • Valid news sitemap (/news-sitemap.xml)
  • Sitemap added to Google Search Console

Publisher Center Requirements

  • Google Publisher Center account created
  • Publication name & logo uploaded
  • Website domain verified
  • Brand icons uploaded (16×16, 48×48, 128×128, 192×192)
  • Sections created (Feed, Web, Video)
  • Editorial Policies page created
  • Corrections Policy page created
  • About/Contact page published
  • All sections successfully fetch data
  • Request Review submitted

Conclusion & Next Steps

Submitting your blog to Google News is one of the fastest ways to grow organic traffic, build authority, and gain trust from Google.
But approval requires two things working together:

1. Editorial Quality

You must show Google that your website behaves like a legitimate news publication:

  • Real author profiles
  • Transparent policies
  • Consistent publishing
  • Clear reporting style

2. Technical Accuracy

You need clean structure:

  • A valid news sitemap
  • Fast loading pages
  • Clear indexation
  • Publisher Center sections working properly

Follow the steps in this guide, complete the checklist above, and your chances of getting approved increase significantly.

If Google rejects your application the first time — don’t worry.
More than 60% of sites get approved on the second submission after fixes.


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