Last updated · reviewed by the Essentras editorial team
Platform guide
How to get your company into Google News
You cannot apply or pay to get into Google News. Google says it automatically considers web content that follows its Google News policies and accepts no payments to improve ranking. A company gets in by publishing dated, bylined news on its own site, by earning coverage, or through a wire release, and Google decides what appears.
Sources: Google's own Publisher Center and Search Central pages, the wires' own pages and our catalog
What you will do
- See how content gets into Google News, in Google's own words.
- Learn what changed in Publisher Center in 2024 and 2025, and what it still does.
- Check what wires that promise Google News sell, with their prices.
- Make your own site eligible in 6 steps, and check where you stand.
- Get covered by outlets Google already shows, without paying for promises.
Start here in 1 click
Nothing on this page buys a place in Google News. Start with the free check, or find outlets that cover your niche.
Check your site in 4 questions
$0
Tells you whether Google can already consider your site, what to fix first, or which route fits if you have no newsroom.
Find outlets that cover your niche
$0
Answer 3 questions and AI Match ranks the catalog outlets that fit your business, with the price next to each. Pitch them for free, or order a labeled placement.
Or browse all 3,886 priced outlets
Google decides what Google News shows. A placement buys a page on a named outlet, not a place in Google News.
The mechanics
How does a company get into Google News?
Google finds it. Google says it automatically considers all web content for inclusion in Google News, so you don't need to apply, and that computer algorithms decide which stories show and in what order.
Google crawls; you do not submit
Since 2019 Google says content for News comes directly from the web, as it does for Search. Publishers do not need to submit a site, and not every article is guaranteed to appear.
Top stories work the same way
Google says publishers are automatically considered for Top stories and the News tab of Search, under the same policies. AMP is not required, and Google says no markup is required either.
What Publisher Center still does
Verifying your site, Reader Revenue Manager for subscriptions and contributions, and Google News Showcase settings. Showcase is a licensing program in which Google pays the publishers it signs, not a way in.
Dates and names count
Google says articles need a clear, visible date and time to be considered, and that sources should show bylines, author and publisher information and contact details.
Readers can choose you
Readers can follow a source in Google News, and pick a site as a preferred source for Top stories, which Google says is available globally. Both are reader choices, not a ranking anyone can sell.
How to see where you stand
Google calls the Google News performance report in Search Console the best way to tell whether your site has eligible content.
Money and Google News
Can you pay to be in Google News?
No. Google says it accepts no payments to improve a site's appearance or ranking, and that advertisers and partners get no special treatment in how it surfaces news. What money buys is a page somewhere Google may show.
- A press release page on a wire's site. Wire pages show in Google News search; Google decides where, and whether they reach Top stories.
- A paid placement on a news site, labeled as its listing states. Google decides whether it appears in Google News.
- Writers for your own newsroom: Google considers what you publish automatically.
- Inclusion in Google News, or an application that gets you in.
- A spot in Top stories or your topic's headlines.
- A ranking: Google weighs relevance, prominence, authority and freshness.
- A new Publisher Center publication: Google stopped those on 25 Apr 2024.
| Vendor | Price | What it says about Google News | Read |
|---|---|---|---|
| EIN Presswire | $149 (Basic) | "We are also a Google News publisher. This means your releases will be visible within Google News" (its FAQ) | 19 Oct 2026 |
| IssueWire | $21 (Tier 1) | "get into Google News", with the footnote "Depends upon the policies of the recipient sites and Google News" | 19 Oct 2026 |
| PRLog | $49 (Premium) and $99 (Premium2) | "Distribution to Google News", ticked on those 2 plans only | 19 Oct 2026 |
| PR.com | $60 package | "news sites (Yahoo News, Google News and others)" | 16 Oct 2026 |
| Brandpush | $265 (Growth) | "300 news sites, including Google News publishers"; its $195 Access plan excludes Google News | 16 Oct 2026 |
| ACCESS Newswire | From $475 (Budget) | "reaches major news platforms including AP, Yahoo Finance, Google News, MSN, and Benzinga" | Archived copy of 2 Oct 2026 |
| 24-7 Press Release | $29 to $479 | "no company, including ours, can guarantee top placement on Google" | 19 Oct 2026 |
| openPR | $0 (1 release every 30 days) | Says a release without an image will not be listed by Google News | 16 Oct 2026 |
| PR Newswire | By quote | "Platforms like Google News or Discover may even highlight your release" | Archived copy of 9 Oct 2025 |
| Essentras | No listing | None of the 3,886 listings sells Google News; a catalog search for it returned 0 | 19 Oct 2026 |
- ACCESS Newswire and PR Newswire blocked our reader, so their wording comes from archived copies of their pages. Verify every claim at the source before you buy.
- A wire can publish your release on its site and partner sites. Whether Google shows it, and where, is Google's decision on every route.
What we checked: on 19 Oct 2026, a Google News search limited to the site of each of 10 wires (EIN Presswire, PR Newswire, Business Wire, GlobeNewswire, ACCESS Newswire, Newswire.com, 24-7 Press Release, PRLog, openPR and IssueWire) returned releases from the previous 7 days for all 10. Wire pages are in Google News search. That is not Top stories, your topic's headlines or a reporter's story.
What an Essentras listing means here: you buy a page on a named outlet, at the listed price, with the label the listing states. If Google News already shows that outlet, the page can appear there under the outlet's name, when Google picks it. No listing includes Google News, none is sorted by it, and we promise neither. Check an outlet first by searching its name in Google News.
Routes
Which routes put your company in Google News?
4 routes. Only your own newsroom is fully in your hands, and none comes with a promise, because Google decides what shows.
| Route | What it costs | Time | What the reader sees | Who decides |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Your own newsroom | $0, plus the writing | No date: Google decides | Your articles, under your site's name and icon | |
| Coverage by outlets Google shows | $0 | No date: the editor decides | An article by that outlet | The editor, then Google |
| A wire release | From $21 (IssueWire) to quotes (PR Newswire) | Set with the wire | Your release on the wire's own site | The wire, then Google |
| A paid placement on a news site | Catalog prices; for example $317 for an AP News press release | 3 to 5 business days for that listing | As the listing states, for example "Published with a sponsored or partner label." | You pick the outlet; Google decides on Google News |
Optional add-ons, and cheaper starts
Optional. You can publish without any of these.
Often added
A press release on AP News
$317
A page on apnews.com, 3 to 5 business days. The listing states: "Published with a sponsored or partner label." Google decides whether it appears in Google News.
Publish on AP NewsBusiness Insider, Yahoo and AP News in 1 order
$833 instead of $1,404
The 3 bought separately cost $1,404; the bundle saves $571 (41%). The listing states: "Published with a discreet disclosure."
See the bundleAI Visibility Tracker
$49 a month
Your buyer questions asked to ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Perplexity and 3 more models every week, so you see whether answers name you after coverage exists.
See the tracker
Not ready yet?
Start free
$0
Price a wire release in the calculator before you pay for any plan that names Google News.
Open the calculatorA page on Medium
$97, 1 business day
A feature article on Medium, a publishing platform, not a news outlet. The listing states: "Published as a standard editorial article, with no sponsored label."
Publish on MediumPress Monthly
$97 a month
1 press placement every month, on an outlet matched to your niche and shown to you before we write. Cancel any time; plan months carry no turnaround guarantee.
See Press Monthly
Step by step
How to get your own site into Google News in 6 steps
This is the route Google describes. It costs nothing but time, and Google still decides.
1. Publish news, not just pages
Give your site a news section with dated articles about real events: launches, data, hires, results. Google considers web content automatically, then ranks it for relevance, prominence, authority and freshness.
2. Show a date, a time and a byline
Google says articles need a clear, visible date and time, and sources should show bylines. Do not refresh dates to look new.
3. Say who is behind the site
Add author pages, an About page naming the publisher, and contact information, as Google's transparency policy asks.
4. Label anything paid
Google News does not allow sponsored content passed off as independent editorial. Keep ads and sponsored posts labeled and separate.
5. Make articles easy to find
Keep pages crawlable and add a news sitemap with articles from the last 2 days, up to 1,000 per sitemap. Article markup is optional: Google says no markup is required.
6. Check, then grow your readers
Watch the Google News performance report in Search Console, and ask readers to follow you in Google News or pick you as a preferred source.
Check your site in 4 questions
Free. The answer names your next step, what it costs and what it will not do.
Answer the questions to see your route.
Every answer, in a table
| If | Route | Price | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| You want your press release in Google News | A wire release, knowing Google decides | From $21; $49 at PRLog Premium | Set with the wire |
| You want articles about you by other outlets | Pitch, or place, on outlets Google already shows | $0 to pitch; listings at catalog prices | No date for a pitch; the listing's turnaround for a placement |
| A date, a byline, an About page or a label is missing | Fix the basics first | $0 | From your next article |
| Your site already has dates, bylines, ownership and labels | Your site can already be considered | $0 | Google decides |
Copy-ready
Templates for Google News
6 templates. Replace everything in [brackets].
Article checklist
Before each article goes live on your site.
[ ] Headline says what happened [ ] Visible date and time of publishing (and of any update) [ ] Byline with the writer's full name, linked to an author page [ ] Publisher named on the page or in the footer [ ] Contact link on every page [ ] Facts with sources; quotes with names and titles [ ] Paid or sponsored content labeled, and kept out of news sections [ ] Links use your brand or a plain description, not keywords [ ] The page is listed in your news sitemap
Author box
Under every article and on the author page.
[Full Name] is [title] at [Company]. [1 sentence on what they write about and why they know it.] More from [First name]: [author page link] | Contact: [email]
About and contact block
Your About page, so readers and Google can see who publishes the site.
[Publication name] is published by [legal company name], [city, country]. [1 sentence on what it covers.] Editor: [Name], [email] Corrections: [how to report an error, and how fast you respond] Contact: [email], [phone], [postal address] Advertising and sponsored content: [how it is labeled on this site]
News sitemap
Articles from the last 2 days, up to 1,000 per sitemap.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<urlset xmlns="http://www.sitemaps.org/schemas/sitemap/0.9"
xmlns:news="http://www.google.com/schemas/sitemap-news/0.9">
<url>
<loc>https://www.example.com/news/your-article</loc>
<news:news>
<news:publication>
<news:name>[Your publication name, as Google News shows it]</news:name>
<news:language>en</news:language>
</news:publication>
<news:publication_date>2026-10-19</news:publication_date>
<news:title>[Your article title]</news:title>
</news:news>
</url>
</urlset>Questions for a wire that names Google News
Before you pay for any plan that mentions Google News.
Hi [Name], Before I order [plan name], please confirm in writing: 1. On which site will the release be published? 2. Can you send 2 recent releases from this plan that show in Google News, with their links? 3. What label will the page show? 4. Are the links nofollow or sponsored? 5. What happens if the release does not show in Google News? Thanks, [Your name]
Pitch to a writer Google News already shows
When you want coverage, not a release page.
Subject: [The figure or finding] on [topic] Hi [First name], Your [date] article on [topic] covered [specific point]. We have [new data, a result or a person to interview] that adds to it: [the news in 1 sentence]. [1 figure with its source.] [Spokesperson, title] can talk [days, time zone]. Details: [newsroom link]. [Your name] [Title, company, phone]
Avoid
Mistakes that keep companies out of Google News
Paying for "Google News inclusion"
Google accepts no payments for inclusion or ranking. A wire can publish your release; Google decides the rest.
Looking for an application form
Publishers cannot set up publications in Publisher Center since 25 Apr 2024. Google finds content by crawling.
Following old guides
Advice to submit an RSS feed or build sections in Publisher Center is out of date: Google said in 2025 it no longer uses them.
Hiding the date or the author
Google wants a clear date and time and a byline on every article.
Refreshing dates
Google treats artificially updated dates as against its guidelines.
Passing off paid posts as news
Google News does not allow sponsored content presented as independent editorial.
Keyword links in releases
Google lists links with optimized anchor text in press releases distributed on other sites as link spam.
Calling a wire page "Google News coverage"
A release that shows in Google News search is your text on the wire's site. Call it a press release.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Can I pay to get into Google News?▾
No. Google says it does not accept payments to expedite or improve a site's appearance or ranking, and that advertisers and partners get no special treatment. You can pay a wire to publish a release, which Google may show.
How do I submit my website to Google News?▾
You do not. Google says it automatically considers all web content for inclusion, so you don't need to apply, and since 25 Apr 2024 publishers cannot set up new publications in Publisher Center.
Does Google News accept press releases?▾
Wire pages appear in Google News search: on 19 Oct 2026 a search limited to each of 10 wires returned releases from the previous 7 days. Google decides where they show, and keyword links in distributed releases count as link spam.
Do press release services guarantee Google News?▾
Some say so. EIN Presswire writes that releases "will be visible within Google News"; IssueWire adds that it "depends upon the policies of the recipient sites and Google News"; 24-7 Press Release says no company can guarantee top placement on Google.
How long does it take to appear in Google News?▾
Google gives no time. It considers new web content automatically, and its news sitemap guidance covers articles from the last 2 days.
Do I need a news sitemap or structured data?▾
Neither is required. Google says there is no markup requirement for Google News features like Top stories; a news sitemap helps Google find articles from the last 2 days.
What is Google Publisher Center for now?▾
Verifying your site, Reader Revenue Manager and Google News Showcase settings. Since 2024 it cannot add publications, and in 2025 Google said Google News no longer uses the RSS feeds or web locations submitted there.
Why is my site not in Google News?▾
Google gives no checklist, but its policies ask for clear dates and bylines, author and publisher information, contact details and labeled sponsored content, and it ranks by relevance, prominence, authority and freshness. Check the Google News report in Search Console.
How do I check if my company appears in Google News?▾
Search your company name on news.google.com. If you run the site, open the Google News performance report in Search Console, which Google calls the best way to see eligible content.
Does a paid placement on a news site appear in Google News?▾
It can, under the outlet's name, if Google picks it. No Essentras listing includes Google News: a catalog search for it returned 0. Each listing states its label before you pay.
Next steps
- 01
Run the free check
Fix dates, bylines, the About page and labels before anything else.
- 02
Add a news sitemap
Articles from the last 2 days, up to 1,000 per sitemap.
- 03
Publish real news, dated and bylined
Launches, data, results and hires, written as news.
- 04
Pitch outlets Google already shows
Search Google News for your topic and pitch the writers who appear.
- 05
Watch Search Console
The Google News performance report shows what Google already uses.
Want outlets that fit your niche?
AI Match ranks the catalog outlets that fit your business, with the price next to each. Free to run; a placement is optional and labeled.
Get a free shortlist Or browse all 3,886 priced outletsChecked on . Every rule on this page is quoted from Google's own pages, every wire claim from the vendor's page, and every Essentras price from a listing, each read on the date shown in the sources below.
Sources, with the date we read each one
- Google Publisher Center Help, About Publisher Center (automatic consideration), read 19 Oct 2026
- Google Publisher Center Help, Get your content on Google News, read 19 Oct 2026
- Google Publisher Center Help, publications notice (25 Apr 2024, updated 18 Dec 2024), read 19 Oct 2026
- Google Publisher Center Help, Google News pages notice (10 Feb 2025, updated 20 Mar 2025), read 19 Oct 2026
- Google Publisher Center Help, How Google News ranks content (payments, AdSense, factors), read 19 Oct 2026
- Google Publisher Center Help, Top stories and the News tab, read 19 Oct 2026
- Google News policies (transparency, sponsored content), read 19 Oct 2026
- Google Publisher Center Help, dates on articles, read 19 Oct 2026
- Google Publisher Center Help, check your content in Search Console, read 19 Oct 2026
- Google Publisher Center Help, Google News Showcase, read 19 Oct 2026
- Google Search, How news works (advertisers and partners), read 19 Oct 2026
- Google Search Central blog, Publisher Center (10 Dec 2019), read 19 Oct 2026
- Google Search Central blog, page experience and AMP (19 Apr 2021), read 19 Oct 2026
- Google Search Central, Article structured data (updated 8 Sep 2026), read 19 Oct 2026
- Google Search Central, news sitemaps (updated 10 Dec 2025), read 19 Oct 2026
- Google Search Central, preferred sources (updated 18 Sep 2026), read 19 Oct 2026
- Google Search spam policies (last updated 28 Aug 2026), read 19 Oct 2026
- EIN Presswire FAQ, read 19 Oct 2026
- IssueWire pricing, read 19 Oct 2026
- PRLog plan comparison, read 19 Oct 2026
- 24-7 Press Release FAQ, read 19 Oct 2026
- PR.com pricing, read 16 Oct 2026 (Essentras rate card)
- Brandpush packages, read 16 Oct 2026 (Essentras rate card)
- openPR submission page, read 16 Oct 2026 (Essentras rate card)
- Essentras catalog API: Google News search, read 19 Oct 2026
Essentras sells paid placements on news sites. It does not sell, and no one can sell, inclusion in Google News. Essentras is not affiliated with Google. Wire claims are the vendors' own, as dated.
More guides on getting covered
Adds us as a preferred source, so our guides surface for you in Search and AI answers. One click, and you can undo it any time.
Free tool · Authority Audit
Where does your authority actually stand?
Before you fix one piece, see the whole picture. A free Authority Audit scores your presence across Google, AI, Wikipedia, reviews, and press, and shows you exactly where to start.