Google News URL Format

[WalesDragon]

Hi,

We are currently redesigning our gaming website (www.totallygn.com) and one of our main goals is to get listed by Google News in future.

Looking at the Google News URL requirements "The URL for each article must contain a unique number consisting of at least three digits."

How does the above affect SEO structure?  I was planning on using a format such as

www.totallygn.com/xbox-360/360-reviews/fifa-12-review

how would this compare to something like?

www.totallygn.com/xbox-360/360-reviews/fifa-12-review234

Thanks in advance for your help

[MattBarker]

Hi all,

Is it still the case that you can submit EITHER with 3 digits in the URL OR via a news sitemap? I can't see anything in the official instructions about the sitemap route... they seem pretty insistent on the 3 digit rule though.

• Can we do it just by submitting a news sitemap via GWT?

• Do you still have to go through the inclusion process here: http://support.google.com/news/publisher/bin/bin/static.py?hl=en&ts=2394225&page=ts.cs&from=191208

Thanks guys... MB.

[JohnPeters]

My site was just accepted in to Google News yesturday and when I went to check the sitemap for the news, Google Webmaster showed errors for the news sitemap.

So I have tried every wordpress plugin I could find, and submitted the news sitempa.

Each one had errors, the only one that worked for me and my site is now showing in Google News is this plugin BWP Google XML Sitemaps

Hope that helps

[KeriMorgret]

Hi WalesDragon,

Did these answers solve your question, or are you looking for some more advice still?

[MikeGracia]

No worries!

I am pretty sure that plugin is the one which allows the WP admin to select JUST posts, and leave out pages... but I am not 100%.

The reason I recommended that particular plugin though, is that from experience, many of the other Google news sitemap plugins seem to cause some sort of XML error when submitting the sitemap to Google news, but this one doesn't, so using it should save a few headaches, and having to 'shop around', so to speak!

Another thing to bear in mind, is that if you have 1 section of your site (say, domain.com/news) and you have an RSS feed on there, showing a feed of a different section of your website (say, domain.com/self-promotional-company-blog), and the second blog for any reason ends up with 3 unique digital in the URL of a post, then Google news can find the link in the RSS feed of your news section, and index the page on the (self promotional blog) in error -

Sounds harmless, but if the news team then decided that you were actually TRYING to get self promotional stuff (even company news) into Google news, you could loose your news approved status... short solution is just to be careful when putting any RSS feeds (of other parts of your site/domain) on your news section!!! (Hope that makes sense?!) - I learned this the hard way (didn't get dropped or anything, as I acted swiftly to sort the issue!).

Hope that helps!

Mike.

[RobertFisher]

Mike, 
Thanks for this, I personally found it helpful. I like the idea of the Google News Plugin and will test it out on a small site.
Good info,

Robert

[MikeGracia]

In addition to the excellent response by Robert Fisher, below, you do not actually NEED to do this, but you CAN do it automatically if you choose to.

Google News needs...

EITHER a unique 3 digit code in the URL...

OR

A Google news specific sitemap.

So, your options are to either change your WP (I checked, your site is Wordpress based, yes?) Permalinks settings, to include post id, OR use a google news sitemap plugin.

You can always put a number in front of the post id, so use something like:

/%postname%/1%post_id%

So, adding a numerical '1' befor %post_id% in your permalinks.

If you are worried about lots of 404 errors due to changing your URL structure, then how about using deans permalinks migration (install it BEFORE changing your permalink settings!) - http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/permalinks-migration-plugin-for-wordpress/

As for a Google News sitemap... For wordpress, I recommend this one: http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/gn-xml-sitemap/

If you go down the sitemap route, do be sure that ONLY news posts are included... E.G. NOT your static, non-news content pages!

IN TERMS OF SEO -

I don't feel it will effect things too much, so long as everything else is good as regards your on-page SEO etc.

Hope that helps!

[RobertFisher]

If you understand that the requirement for the three or more digits is around insuring that there is a unique page for each individual article. So if you look at: www.totallygn.com/xbox-360/360-reviews/fifa-12-review, It appears to me that the second 360 is still associated with reviews of games associated with XBox 360. The fifa-12-review appears to be a soccer game (I have never played on one of those things I am an intelligent worker and not involved in any type of warfare even modern).

So, the second where you have review 234 does work because  the three digit number appears to give a unique numeric identifier to that article. (Note if a 4 digit number it cannot start with 199 or 200).

In the event there is something that would prevent you from using this convention, you can always create a news Sitemap. Google Support News Sitemap.

Hope this helps, best,

Edit: missed seo question: It has a positive effect on SEO as it is following Google's convention. (One question is whether or not having a news sitemap would give more credence/weight as a news site versus the unique identifier???) My guess is it would.