Google has updated its Googlebot-News crawler documentation to address a previous error that suggested publisher crawler preferences influenced the appearance of the News tab in Google search results.
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Googlebot-News Documentation Update
The recent changes to Google’s documentation aim to clarify the role and impact of the Googlebot-News crawler within Google’s news ecosystem.
Correction of Misrepresented Information
Initially, the documentation incorrectly implied a direct effect on the Google News tab, leading to potential misunderstandings among content publishers.
Google clarified, “The description for how crawling preferences addressed to Googlebot-News mistakenly stated that they’d affect the News tab on Google, which is not the case.” Consequently, the section referencing the News tab in Google Search was removed to ensure accurate representation of the crawler’s influence.
The revised documentation now accurately states that crawling preferences set for the Googlebot-News user agent affect the Google News product, including news.google.com and the Google News app, without extending to the News tab in standard Google search results.
The Bottom Line
This clarification helps publishers understand how their crawling preferences interact specifically with Google’s news platforms, ensuring their content is appropriately represented across Google’s dedicated news channels.
