As the number of searchers looking up the query "news near me" increases, Google is introducing new features for local search results and new tools for journalists.
Google reports that searches for "news near me" have tripled over the past five years, reaching an all-time high in May 2020.
In response to the growing demand for local news, Google is adding new features to search results to help people find locally relevant stories.
Google is also releasing new and upgraded tools for reporters to produce more work tailored to a digital medium.
Here’s an overview of everything Google is rolling out.
New Features For Local News In Google Search
New features coming to Google Search will make it easier for people to find content from local news publishers:
- Local News Carousel: A carousel dedicated to local news stories will appear when there’s local content relevant to the user’s query.
- Top Stories Carousel: Authoritative local news sources will appear more often in the Top Stories carousel, typically reserved for stories from national publications.
- Deeper Understanding Of Topics: Google is improving its ability to connect broad topics with local stories. For example, searches for "football" may return stories about the searcher’s local teams.
- Local Tweets: Searches for local news may now surface tweets from local, authoritative publications and journalists.
New Tools For Local News Reporters
In addition to helping searchers, Google aims to help journalists by providing them with locally relevant data to enhance their stories:
- Census Mapper Project: An embeddable map that displays Census data at the national, state, and county levels, as well as census tracts. Data is collected and processed by The Associated Press.
- Common Knowledge Project: A new version of this existing tool, which allows US journalists to explore local data. The updated version integrates journalist feedback and features geographic comparisons, new charts, and visuals.
Google will continue to invest in developing new tools to assist local news publishers in producing more engaging stories.
Source: Google News Blog
Featured Image: K3Star/Shutterstock
