Google: the great search engine mystery. How do you get your news picked up by Google News? Unfortunately, Google doesn’t publish a manual on the things they look for in Google News articles (if they did, they could make a lot of money!). However, as with everything else in business, there are trends to watch out for. Below are some tips on how to get YOUR news on the Google radar.

1. Make Your Headline “Newsy”- Unfortunately, sales copy doesn’t work here. As my father always said, “If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck” it’s a duck. You have a better chance of getting included in Google News if you stay away from headlines that sound like ad copy. Instead, try and formulate your headlines so that they grab readers attention but are also newsy. To get an idea of some good headlines, take a look at Google News and see what they are currently picking up. Then, craft your headlines around those. Remember Dan Kennedy’s S & D (steal and distribute)!

2. Location, Location, Location - Each day, only the top 30 press releases are considered for inclusion into Google News. Do whatever you can to make sure that yours is somewhere within the top 30 for its scheduled day of release. To get your release into the top 30, make sure that your content is both relevant and educational.

3. Be Conscious of the Date in Your Press Release - This is something simple to look for but easy to mess up. If your press release has a date in the first paragraph, make sure it matches the date of release. Press releases that have an incorrect date are generally not considered. Fortunately, many of the press release services such as http://www.prlog.org and
http://www.prweb.com stamp the date for you, so that’s one less thing to worry about!

4. Watch the Number of Links Within Your Release - I would try to stick to 2-3 links within the body of your release. A good rule of thumb is one link for every one hundred words. If you choose to include more than that, your release runs the risk of looking like spam and will generally not be considered for inclusion.

5. Length - Keep you release between 150-500 words. Any more or less and the chances of inclusion will get even slimmer.

Unfortunately, we can’t read the Google manual, but if you follow these general rules, you’ll be better off than most!