Google News is implementing a significant change to its platform by transitioning to automatically generated publication pages in March. This update follows the initial announcement made in April 2024 and aims to streamline the publisher workflow while simplifying the product experience.
Impact on Existing Publication Pages
The transition means that manually created publication pages will no longer be visible to Google News users. The Publisher Center will discontinue its customization features for publication pages, and the Google News tile will be removed from the Publisher Center interface.
Google emphasizes that this change does not affect content eligibility criteria for Google News and other news surfaces. Content from publishers will continue to be automatically considered for inclusion provided it complies with Google's content policies. The ranking system will maintain its focus on key factors including:
- Relevance
- Prominence
- Authoritativeness
- Freshness
- Location
- Language
The update removes custom sections that publishers previously created in Publisher Center from Google News landing pages. This modification is designed to simplify the publisher workflow and enhance user experience.
Logo and Title Management Updates
Publishers will now rely on automated systems for logo and publication title display in Google News:
- Logos: Will utilize site favicons for Google Search results
- Publication Titles: Will use site names from Google Search
For Google News Showcase and Reader Revenue Manager users, logo submissions will continue to be managed through Publisher Center.
