On Thursday, Google News announced in its blog that it has made updates to its SERPs to place a greater focus on visual content and provide the freshest updates to users.
Adding a real-time coverage page will help users find the most relevant information regarding a news story they’re paying attention to. As the news cycle continues its 24-hour lifecycle, finding current, updated content is important. The option will make it easier to ensure that an article contains updates.
Moreover, Google+ integration has come a step further for Google News users. Now, those logged-in to their accounts will see comments their followers have made on news topics they see in SERPs. Making content consumption more social can help websites drive traffic and interest when articles are shared by Google+ users. Much like Twitter, those using content marketing can share articles or blog posts on Google+ to drum up interest for their site.
Additionally, placing a greater focus on visual content will help those with relevant images attract readers. Moreover, the move is in line with recent changes to Google+ that gave visual content more real estate on users’ Google+ accounts. Brafton reported that Google’s social network made these changes to bring it in line with expectations of web users for a visually appealing interface for their social browsing.
Making news content more visually attractive and providing the most fresh information can help Goolgle news draw more traffic and remain relevant. Moreover, as Brafton recently reported, 61 percent of web users access news content every day.
