Get More Local Eyes on Your Newsworthy Local Content

Learn about Community Updates, a new Google News section that pulls exclusively from hyperlocal sources. Could this be a new outlet for your content?

As a national brand…have you ever hosted an event or fundraiser at one of your many brick and mortar locations, only to struggle with the local marketing landscape?

As a consumer…have you ever worried that you’re missing out on something super awesome happening just down the block? Or maybe an important school board meeting that could change your child’s curriculum forever? Well, fear no more!

Community Updates could be the solution for both. It’s nested under the “Local” tab in Google News and surfaces news and events happening in your local area.

You can manually select any location you wish to see updates from. While both Google News and Community Updates use machine learning to pull content that’s relevant to your interests and location, Community Updates is designed to seek out content from hyperlocal sources such as local bloggers and school newspapers, not just the big guys at CNN, BBC, and so on.

“We realized these and other local sources deserved their own unique space,” said Google’s James Morehead.

For big enterprises and regional managers that can sometimes feel disconnected from their locations, Community Updates is a great way to stay connected. It’s also a new opportunity to be found by locals.

So what? If you regularly host local events in your area, report on staff members’ local contributions, or publish local newsworthy content in any way, consider Community Updates as another potential publishing outlet. Start by reviewing Google’s general and technical guidelines for Community Update eligibility. If you’re a fit, apply for inclusion. Approval can take one to three weeks.