Google News Will Not Use New Mobile Ranking Signal… Yet

With Google’s new mobile ranking signal coming into effect on April 21st, many people questioned whether Google News rankings would be affected with this new ranking signal, or if it would continue serving up the best news source, regardless of whether it is mobile friendly or not.

If you are in Google News but are concerned you won’t beat the deadline to get your site mobile comparable by April 21st, you can breath easy… for a while.  Google does not plan on using the mobile ranking signal for ranking in Google News, at least not at this time.

In a Google News Webmaster Hangout yesterday, Stacie Chan from Google News revealed they don’t have plans to use it, but it is clearly on their minds.

I knew I was going to get that question.  As of now, Google News is not committed to making that change just yet.  We’re always exploring because we think its awesome that sites are trying to be more mobile friendly.  Myself personally as a user, I love that.  And Google News is very well aware that Search is doing that and kudos to you guys, that’s great.  So we’re definitely exploring that option as well but we don’t have a set timeline or anything like that, or whether or not we will even implement that into our product as well.

Currently, Google News doesn’t use the “Mobile Friendly” tag in front of news sources that are mobile friendly, when someone searches in Google News or when the Google News homepage is viewed.

Here is the video from the Hangout:

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Jennifer Slegg

Founder & Editor at The SEM Post

Jennifer Slegg is a longtime speaker and expert in search engine marketing, working in the industry for almost 20 years. When she isn't sitting at her desk writing and working, she can be found grabbing a latte at her local Starbucks or planning her next trip to Disneyland. She regularly speaks at Pubcon, SMX, State of Search, Brighton SEO and more, and has been presenting at conferences for over a decade.

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