Google News Meta Tags – Is the Effort Worthwhile?

Google recently introduced the ‘news keywords meta tag’ for publishers with an aim to allow Google to identify and classify news related content more accurately and efficiently. These tags allow published to add up to 10 keywords that have equal value.

This system has been placed as one of the many identification criterions used to deciphering algorithms which aid in establishing content or page rankings. With Google emphasising significantly on the quality of content, it has been working hard to put in place robust systems which promote websites with goof quality information.

It has now been three months since Google launched the news keyword Meta tag. Unfortunately, studies show that only about 5% of the publishers in Google News have been able to do justice to this system by putting it to use in their content management strategy.

With only 2,465 domains as off December 2012 actually using this news keyword Meta tags, one cannot help but wonder if this system is truly worthwhile.

Why haven’t the News Met Tags Caught on?

Or rather, the real question is – ‘Why aren’t news publishers leveraging the tool that has the potential to provide them with enhanced online visibility?’

One of the primary reasons behind its low integration rate is to do with bureaucratic inertia. It has been found time and again that implementing any time of search engine optimization is quite a challenge; even more so, when a new and non-standard form of tagging is introduced or replaced by one that has been in place for over a decade. With numerous content management systems relying on the support of older forms of tagging, evolving becomes a menace and a challenge even for the biggest publishers on the internet.

If Google is able to support both standards of Meta tagging, the adoption rate among publishers is predicted to be significantly higher.

Adopting the Google News Meta Tags –

As a publisher who is finally adopting the news Meta tags, here are a few things to keep in mind –
1. Remember to continue maintaining a fine balance between innovation, editorial ideas and the use of crisp language to effectively communicate news pieces.
2. Remember that the news keyword Meta tag is only for Google News. Your article needs to be descriptive, complete with well balanced headlines that influence your rankings and also help in your social media initiatives.
3. It is also important to keep in mind that the tags are not relevant to content such as packages and slideshows which are ineligible to be indexed on Google News. Your editorial team should avoid spending time adding keywords into content that will be of little benefit to your rankings.
4. Effective optimization goes beyond relevancy and ranking. One also needs to focus on acquiring sufficient number of click-throughs. Whether it is a news search, social search or web search, make sure your headlines are appealing and communicative enough to give your readers a sufficient idea on what to expect.

Finally, encourage your editorial team to reasonably se the tags. With the freedom to use 10 phrases per article, you can truly leverage this tool to convey the main subject of the news piece. The faster you are at adopting this unique Meta tag tool, the easier it will be for you to sustain when the competition gets tougher.