A Guide to Google's Publisher Center

RebelMouse Team
Wed, 03 Aug 2022 19:13:00 +0000
Google news, Google, Google publisher

How to Set up Google's Publisher Center

Publication Name

Verify Your Content

Basic Information and Location

Content Labels

Adding Users

August 2022 Update: Looking to set up Publisher Center?

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In late 2019, Google merged Google News Producer and Google News Publisher Center into a single tool. Officially called Publisher Center, Google has created an enhanced user experience and expanded set of functionalities that easily allow any publisher to manage content across multiple properties on Google News.

One of the many great new features Publisher Center offers is the ability to manage multiple sites simultaneously under one organization, as well as the ability to switch between more than one organization.

This makes managing many sites across multiple organizations a snap.

It's important to note that whoever sets up a new publication within Publisher Center must have ownership of the site where that content is published within Google Search Console.

How to Set up Google's Publisher Center

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Setting up Your Organization

Make sure you are logged into your Google account and navigate to the home page for Publisher Center. If you don't already have a Google account, you can set it up through Publisher Center as described by Google.

If your organization was previously set up to publish on Google News, you may already see your site listed. If this is the case, click Edit to begin the process of optimization.

Setting up Your Publication

If this is your first time ever setting up your organization to publish content on Google News, click + Add Publication in the left-hand navigation menu:

Publication Name

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Here you will provide the basic information of your site.

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Once you've created your publication, you'll see the following main screen:

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From here you will be able to continue the setup process for your publication. The first thing to do is to verify your site ownership through Google Search Console. If you need any help setting up Google Search Console, please check out our post on the process.

Verify Your Content

The next step is updating your basic information, as well as verifying your content and URL through Publisher Center. First, click on Publication Settings from the main interface:

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Here you can update your publication name, primary language, location, and verify your URL. If you have any difficulty verifying your URL, Google has detailed help on the verification process.

From this interface you can also add any additional website URLs, as well as update your contact information. Simply scroll down and you will see all of the available options:

Basic Information and Location

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Next you will want to add your logos to your publication. Simply click the Visual styles tab at the top of the page and add in your appropriate logos:

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Once you're finished adding all of your information, don't forget to click Save in the upper right-hand corner of the screen. Once you have completed your basic information, you'll be ready to configure. Simply return to the main interface and click on the Google News box:

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This will open up the configuration interface, where you can customize your visuals and content. If you've already set this up, you will see the current data. If you haven't, you'll want to click Edit on the right-hand side of the screen to begin setting things up:

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This will take you to the general edit menu for your publication. You are able to add your publication description, category, distribution options, and Google Analytics tracking. When you are done, simply click the Next button in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen. This will take you to the Content settings tab:

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If you want to add specific sections as tabs in your Google News app, click on + New Section. From here you can name your section and add your RSS Feed for Google to be able to filter.

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When you have your sections complete, you can restrict access to your sections for specific users, if you need to have something private, or for testing. Again, when you're finished, just click Next in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen and you'll move on to the final step, Review and publish:

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As you can see here, if you are missing any details, Google will list them out for you to review. Once all of your settings are complete, you will be able to submit your site to Google for their review.

Content Labels

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Once you've determined what your sections will be, you will need to add labels to them. These content labels add greater context to what type of content the respective section contains.

It should be noted that not all sections will need content labels, and that they should only be used if they accurately represent one of the provided content label options.

You can add site-wide content labels, or have them for specific sections. Google gives you a short list of options for adding content labels:

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Adding Users

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Individuals can be granted access at an organization, publication, or publishing account level.

To grant access, click User permissions in the left-hand navigation menu. Once there, you can enter the person's email address and select the level of permission they need.

You can also review which users already have access and at which permission level.

Resource: Check out Search Engine Journal's 6 Common Google News Optimization Mistakes Common Google News Optimization Mistakes

Let Us Help You Manage Google Publisher Center

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Oh, and we can help you manage tools like Google Publisher Center so you can focus on creating content that moves the needle for your business. Let's start talking.