How To Check If An Expired Domain Is An Approved News Source In Google News

August 4, 2019
Want to know if an expired domain is an approved news source in google news – here are some simple steps you can take to confirm:

  • Google News Search

  1. After you find a domain of interest the first thing you would need to do is go to google.com and search “site:DOMAIN.COM”. You should see a bunch of results in Google Search. If you do find a bunch of results that it is a confirmation that the domain was not inactive and that it was used before.
  2. Click on the “news” tab. If you find results under “news” tab of Google Search, it is an indication that the domain is or was in Google News during its lifetime. Now remove the “site:” part from the search and search with only “DOMAIN.COM”. If you still find results, it is a strong indication that the domain is still Google News approved.

  • URL Check

  1. One of the initial technical requirements with Google News was that the URL of a Google News approved domain should contain unique numbers. Those of you who are aware about WordPress would know that there is a permalinks option that allows you to set %POST_ID% as part of the URL.
    1. WordPress is a common choice of platforms when it comes to blogs or news sites and so webmasters often used %POST_ID% as a means to get this unique number into the URL.
    2. While you are searching for previous URLs for a domain, if you find the URL structure to be comprising of such a structure, it is a strong indication that the domain was likely Google News approved once or may be still is.

  • Look in Google News Database

  1. Ever since Google implemented the new Google News interface, it has inadvertently given us access to the Google News database. This is something that very few people are aware of, but it is one of the best ways to hunt for expired Google News domains.
  2. If in your first step of “Google News Search” you have found a domain with links still showing in Google News, note the “publisher name” of the site that is being displayed just under each of the titles.
  3. Then go to “news.google.com” in a new tab. In the search bar type the “publisher name”. Wait for a couple of seconds as Google News is searching for that particular publisher name in its database.
  4. If there is a match, Google News will show you a suggestion in the search box itself with the full “publisher name” and “News Source” underneath that publisher name.