Free SEO tool
Google News checker
Enter your news site or a story URL and we'll check 22 technical items that matter for Google News and Discover in seconds.
What is a Google News checker?
A Google News checker measures whether your news site meets the technical requirements to appear in Google News and Google Discover. It tests 22 items in seconds, including NewsArticle structured data, a news sitemap, robots.txt, publish dates, author info and the large image setting.
The technical answer to "how do I get on Google News?" lies in these items: Google can only discover your stories from properly marked-up, crawlable and fast pages. For Discover you also need images at least 1200 px wide and the max-image-preview:large setting.
The check is free and changes nothing on your site; it shows step by step how to fix every missing item. Inclusion in Google News is always Google's decision and also depends on content quality.
How to use the Google News checker
- 1
Enter your news site or a single story URL.
- 2
Press "Check"; the tool reviews your page, robots.txt and sitemaps.
- 3
Apply the "How to fix" tips under missing or warning items and check again.
How do we check?
- The page you enter, your robots.txt and sitemaps are downloaded once by our server; nothing on your site is changed.
- Story items (NewsArticle structured data, dates, author, image) are only checked if the page is marked up as a story.
- Image width is read from og:image:width or the structured data width; if missing, only the image's presence is checked.
- Response time is measured from our server to your site; the speed your readers see may differ by location.
- This check measures technical readiness; appearing in Google News and Discover is Google's decision and also depends on content quality.
- The same URL is served from cache for 10 minutes, and checks per minute are limited to prevent abuse.
Google News and Discover FAQ
Publish original, regular news; show masthead, author and contact info clearly; add NewsArticle structured data to every story and create a news sitemap. Add your site to Google Search Console and manage publisher details in Google Publisher Center. This tool helps you find technical gaps.
Original, timely news, transparent publisher info (about, author, contact) and a technically sound setup: NewsArticle structured data, a news sitemap and crawlable, fast pages. This tool checks the technical side.
A special sitemap listing stories published in the last 2 days with news: tags. It helps Google discover your new stories quickly.
Large, high-quality images (at least 1200 px wide), the max-image-preview:large setting, engaging but honest headlines and fresh content improve Discover visibility.
Technical readiness is necessary but not sufficient. Google decides based on many factors such as content quality, originality, trustworthiness and publisher transparency.
No. Your page is read once, like a normal visitor; nothing is changed.
Related content
Get started
From the first story to the millionth reader
Launch your news site in minutes: write, publish, grow. We handle infrastructure, security and speed; you focus on the news.
No credit card required · Setup support · 24/7 technical support