Google ‘Standout’ tag adds value to original publications

by Vijay - 11/29/2011 6176 Views

Google applauds standout content in Google News

Similar to the many signals that algorithmically determine prominence on Google News the standout tags are just one of the many signals that add value to content. The US edition of Google News will feature this ‘standout’ tag and give even more credit to publisher who deserves it. By adding the standout tag to the HTML header of your high value article, Google News would display articles with a ‘Featured’ label on the Google News homepage and News Search results. Since the Standout tag belongs to the HTML header of articles, the readers won’t be able to view it while the automated systems like Google News does and promotes it on the search page. With this, online news organizations and websites with news pages can ensure ways of getting the attention of the readers when publishing significant breaking news stories, exclusive original reporting, deep investigative work and scoops that clearly stand out.

The syntax for this new tag is as follows:

<link rel="standout" href=“http://www.example.com/scoop_article_2.html” />

You can as well use the tag to highlight your own content or to point to other sources with standout stories as long as the content is original and would have some scoop value. As linking out to exceptional news stories and original journalistic contributions on other sites is considered a best practice for earning trust, Google advices to make use of it as much as you also promote your own standout work.

Though a news organization is permitted to cite standout stories from other news sources any number of times each week, their own content falls within a stipulated seven times every calendar week as exceeding the limit would make them lose tag value or might stand to be ignored altogether.

Google in its official blog has stated that, “We recognize the importance of giving credit where credit is due, and believe this tag can be a step in the right direction -- but it will only succeed if the publisher community helps it succeed,” which implies that it is looking forward for effective usage and feedback from users.

Category :

Google

Tags :

SEO, Google Standout tag, Google News, Featured news

About Vijay

Working on the evolving Social Media platforms for the last 3 years, I have been constantly researching and updating my knowledge base and skill set to keep up and perhaps, stay a step ahead of the latest trends in Social Media and Search Engine Optimization .... more info about the author