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Early Access

Meta Tags

googlebot-news

Learn how to use the googlebot-news meta tag to improve your site.

Provides specific instructions to Google News crawler on how to index content for Google News. Enables granular control over the indexing behavior of your website’s news articles by Google.

Parameters

index
Allows the Google News crawler to index the page.
<meta name="googlebot-news" content="index" />
noindex
Prevents the Google News crawler from indexing the page.
<meta name="googlebot-news" content="noindex" />
follow
Instructs the Google News crawler to follow links on the page.
<meta name="googlebot-news" content="follow" />
nofollow
Prevents the Google News crawler from following links on the page.
<meta name="googlebot-news" content="nofollow" />
noarchive
Prevents Google News from displaying cached copies of the page.
<meta name="googlebot-news" content="noarchive" />
nosnippet
Prevents a snippet or preview from being shown in the Google News results.
<meta name="googlebot-news" content="nosnippet" />
max-snippet:-1
Allows unlimited-length snippets in Google News.
<meta name="googlebot-news" content="max-snippet:-1" />
max-image-preview:large
Allows large image previews in Google News results.
<meta name="googlebot-news" content="max-image-preview:large" />

Code Examples

<meta name="googlebot-news" content="index, follow" />
Allows the Google News crawler to index the news article and follow links within it, helping improve your news content visibility.
<meta name="googlebot-news" content="noindex, nofollow" />
Prevents the Google News crawler from indexing and following links in a specific article that is not meant for news circulation.
<meta name="googlebot-news" content="index, nofollow" />
While it enables indexing of the page by Google News, it prevents the crawler from following any links, which might limit the discovery of related content.
<meta name="googlebot-news" content="noindex, follow" />
This configuration is counterintuitive for news articles as it blocks the page from being indexed in Google News but allows link following.

Recommendations

  • Optimize for Google News Visibility
    Use "index, follow" to ensure your content is discoverable and ranks within Google News.
  • Control Snippet and Image Previews
    Utilize "nosnippet" or "max-snippet:-1" and "max-image-preview:large" to manage how your content appears in news results, balancing click-through with content exposure.
  • Avoid Common Misconfigurations
    Ensure not to inadvertently use "noindex" on important news articles you wish to appear in Google News.

Related Documentation

Related Meta Tags

author

name

Specifies the name of the author of the document or webpage. This is used by search engines to understand authorship information, which can influence search rankings and visibility.

<meta name="author" content="Jane Doe">
Specifies a clear, straightforward author name, improving the document's credibility and aiding in content attribution.

charset

charset

Defines the character encoding standard for the HTML document. Character encoding is essential for rendering text correctly in browsers.

<meta charset="charset" content="UTF-8">
Declares UTF-8 as the character encoding for the HTML document, supporting most characters and symbols in use today.

description

name

Provides a brief and concise summary of a web page’s content. This summary is often used by search engines to display snippet previews in search results, influencing click-through rates.

<meta name="description" content="Learn how to bake delicious, moist cupcakes with our easy-to-follow guide. Featuring tips and tricks for beginners.">
A well-crafted description for a page about baking cupcakes, incorporating relevant keywords and staying within the recommended character limit.

google

name

This meta tag is utilized to specify how Google should interact with your site. Primarily, it's used to enable or disable Google's site translation feature on a per-page basis.

<meta name="google" content="notranslate">
Prevents automatic translation of the page, ensuring that content is presented as intended without potential misinterpretation through translation.

google-site-verification

name

Used for verifying ownership of a website within Google Search Console, a crucial step for accessing detailed reporting and configuring how Google interacts with your site.

<meta name="google-site-verification" content="your_verification_code">
Correctly places the verification code in the content attribute, verifying site ownership.