In the past, the best way to get attention for your business was being featured in the news. This practice is also possible on the net, with businesses regularly distributing press releases and their methods are even more spirited than in the old days. Possibly the best news outlet to be seen is on the pages of Google News.

Google introduced its news section in beta in 2001 and in full version in 2006, but the passage of time hasn’t made appearing on its pages any easier. There are limitations you need to be able to work around. Optimization for Google News is also slightly different from regular SEO methods and may involve a fair amount of work.

The leading drawback for getting on Google News is that it isn’t nearly as open as regular Google search. In the interests of providing legitimate news stories, the site searches only official news sources. As expected, having your site acknowledged as a genuine news source is practically impossible if you’re the average business. Unless you have a real interest in your industry’s news, it may not be worth it.

A further limitation comes in on the second level. Once you manage to get your Article on one of the news sites that Google searches for news, you should ensure it’s the kind of article that will appeal to Google. This means that a special kind of optimization for Google News needs to be performed.

Optimization for Google News has some similarities to everyday SEO. Keywords are still important, although you need to look at the keywords that will appeal for this specific kind of search. Having your news piece appear in several places can make it more attractive to Google, as it shows that your article is newsworthy.  Location is significant with Google News, but the usual SEO tricks for location aren’t enough. Location needs to be mentioned throughout the story.

Finally, another major consideration for Google News is real-time search. Pages update continuously and all of the flaws usually seen with Google’s real time efforts are decidedly absent in Google News. Consequently, you need to consider not just the amount of time your piece is likely to stay on its pages, but when you want it to appear. Posting something in the morning is a good idea, but it may take a little experimentation before you get the timing just right.