Google has provided clarification on the options available for publishers to prevent certain content from appearing in Google News and Discover while maintaining its visibility in organic search results. This information came in response to a query from SEO professional Lily Ray.
For Google News, publishers have two methods to block content:
Using robots.txt: To prevent an entire site from appearing in Google News, publishers can block access to Googlebot-News using a robots.txt file.
Using meta tags: For more granular control, publishers can prevent specific articles from appearing in Google News by using the following meta tag:
<meta name="Googlebot-News" content="noindex, nofollow">
This meta tag allows publishers to keep certain pages indexed for general search results while excluding them specifically from Google News. For more info, you can refer to Google documenation.
However, the situation is different for Google Discover. The Google Search Liaison, after consulting with John Mueller, confirmed that there is currently no specific mechanism for publishers to block content from appearing in Discover while keeping it visible in organic search results.
Lily Ray had asked about this issue, noting that it continues to be a concern for many clients, particularly with content that falls into gray areas of Google's guidelines but performs well in search results.
The Search Liaison acknowledged the usefulness of a Discover-specific blocking feature and stated that they would pass this feedback along to the relevant teams at Google. This suggests that Google may consider implementing such an option in the future, although no concrete plans have been announced.
This clarification highlights the ongoing challenges publishers face in managing their content's visibility across Google's various platforms, especially when dealing with content that performs well in organic search but may not align perfectly with News and Discover guidelines.
For now, publishers have more control over their content's appearance in Google News than in Discover, and must consider their overall content strategy when publishing articles that might fall into gray areas of Google's content guidelines.
