What if Google Makes mistakes?

[Harikrishna Patel]

I have read an article on Search engine land, that Google is misattributing the content of major news publishers , does any one of you has notice these kinds of misattributing, is there any way to tackle this kind of situation? Please any suggestion would be appreciative.

[mts]

steps publishers could take to potentially rectify such issues:

Verify Authorship: Make sure that the news article authors are verified and their profiles are complete. This could include both in-site author profiles as well as off-site profiles, such as Google Authorship.

Structured Data: Implement structured data in your articles. Structured data can help search engines understand the content on your pages and can be used to display rich snippets in search results. It might not directly solve the misattribution problem, but it increases the chance of correct attribution.

Unique and Original Content: To avoid misattribution, always have unique and original content. This helps Google and other search engines differentiate your content from others.

Contact Google: Use Google's webmaster tools to report these problems. In the past, Google has provided channels like the "Search Console" through which site owners can flag issues. Also, consider posting the issue on Google's Webmaster Central forum where Google's staff and other webmasters could provide assistance.

DCMA Complaint: If your content is being plagiarized, you can file a DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) complaint to Google. Though this is more applicable for cases where content is being copied and attributed to other sources, it may still be relevant depending on the extent and nature of the misattribution.

Social Media Promotion: Another way is to spread your articles more on social media. Social sharing can indirectly influence your DA (Domain Authority), which might also influence how Google recognizes your content.

Seek Expert Advice: Consider contacting an SEO expert or a company specializing in SEO. They can provide specific strategies tailored to the issues you are experiencing.

Keep an Eye on Google Updates: Google search algorithm updates may sometimes alter how sites are indexed and content is attributed. Staying updated on the latest changes can offer insights into why attribution issues arise.

Clear Attribution Within Articles: Clearly mention the author, date, and any other pertinent details within the article itself. While meta tags and structured data assist search engines in understanding the content, having the information clearly stated within the content helps both the reader and the search algorithms.

Revisit Your SEO Practices: Review your website's overall SEO practices to ensure you are keeping in line with Google's guidelines. Sometimes, seemingly unrelated issues might cause problems in how your content gets indexed and attributed.

Keep URLs Consistent: If you're updating a news story, try to keep the URL consistent. Google might treat each distinctly URLs as separate pages, leading to possible misattribution.

AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages): Embrace AMP if you haven't already. This technology effectively increases the loading speed for newspaper websites on mobile devices. Google usually gives good visibility in its mobile ranking to AMP pages.

News Publisher Centre: This is a platform provided by Google to news publishers to directly communicate news site information to Google, ensuring their information is accurately represented.

Frequent Website Audits: Regular technical audits for your website are crucial. If there is an underlying issue with your site structure, sitemap, or other aspects that affect how search engines crawl and index your site, it could cause misattribution.

Duplicate Content: Search engines usually filter out identical content when presenting search results. If Google finds the same content on multiple pages, it will choose one to display and ignore the rest. Make sure your content is unique, and check if someone might be copying your content.

XML Sitemaps: Keep your XML sitemap up to date. A sitemap assists Google in finding and understanding all the pages on your site. If new articles aren't appearing in your sitemap, Google might not realize they exist or ascribe them less importance.

Monitor Backlinks: The more reputable sites that link to your article, the more authority your piece will have in the eyes of search engines. You might want to consider using a tool like Google Search Console to monitor who is linking to your site, the anchor text they're using, and similar information.

Page Load Speed: Although it's not directly related to content attribution, Google considers page load speed as a ranking factor. If your pages are slow to load, it's possible they may be downgraded in search results, which could contribute to misattribution.

Work with Aggregators Carefully: If your articles are distributed through news aggregators or syndication platforms, ensure they're implementing canonical tags that point back to your original article. This helps Google understand where the content originally came from.

Robots.txt and Meta Robots: Make sure that your articles are not blocked by robots.txt or 'noindex' meta tags. Both of these direct search engine spiders away from the page, meaning the content on the page won't get indexed.

Breadcrumbs: Use breadcrumbs on your site. Breadcrumbs are navigational aids that can help Google understand the structure and hierarchy of your site.

Invest in HTTPS: If you haven't already, secure your website with HTTPS. Google has made it clear that HTTPS is a ranking signal. It assures users that their connection to your site is secure, which can contribute to your site's reputation.

Optimize for Mobile: Ensure that your site is mobile-friendly. Google uses mobile-first indexing, which means its crawling, indexing, and ranking systems predominantly use the mobile version of a webpage's content.

Consistent Posting Schedule: A regular and consistent posting schedule can signal to Google that your site is active and frequently updated with fresh content, which may have positive implications for your site's visibility in the search results.

News-Specific SEO Tools: There are tools specially designed to help news publishers with their SEO. They may provide features like automatic XML sitemap generation for news articles, tagging assistance, and more.

Schema Markup: Implementing schema markup or structured data can help with better content understanding by search engines. For instance, a news article schema can provide more detail about the structure and content of your news article.

Author's Reputation: Google's algorithms also consider factors such as the reputation of the author of the webpage. So, having a dedicated author section with info about their experience, expertise, and other credentials might help.

Participate in Google News Initiative: Google News Initiative represents Google's effort to work with the news industry to help journalism thrive in the digital age. Being an active participant here could bring additional insights and resources.

Follow Google Webmasters Blog and Updates: It's a good idea to follow the Google Webmasters Blog and stay updated with any changes Google is making to their algorithm or changes in the way they index and rank websites.

Getting Help: If you've tried everything and you're still experiencing issues, it might be worth reaching out directly to the Google Search Central Help Community or hiring a reputable SEO professional for advice.

Ensure Keyword Relevance: Google's algorithms evaluate content relevancy, so make sure your keywords align with your content. Don't attempt to stuff your content with keywords; it should be natural and flow smoothly.

Use Alt Tags: Don't overlook the importance of alt text on images. Alt text helps search engins understand what your images are about, and can contribute to your overall SEO.

Optimize Meta Descriptions: While the meta description doesn't influence Google's ranking, it can influence click-through rates. People will decide whether to visit your page based on the meta description, so ensure it accurately conveys what your content is about.

Quality Over Quantity: Producing high-quality content is better than producing a large volume of low-quality content. While volume is important, it should never be prioritized over the value and usefulness of your content.

Incorporate Internal and External Links: Linking internally to your other content helps distribute link equity throughout your site, which can boost SEO. External linking, especially to reputable sources, can also positively impact SEO.

Stay Current with SEO Trends: Search engine algorithms will continue to change over time. It's important to keep up-to-date with SEO techniques and best practices.

Invest in SEO Tools: There are various SEO tools available, such as SEMrush, MOZ, Ahrefs, which can help optimize your site's SEO.

Audit Your SEO: Regularly performing a thorough audit of your site's SEO can provide you with insights on what's working, what's not working, and what improvements you need to make.

Avoid Black Hat SEO Tactics: Engaging with manipulative practices to trick search engine ranking algorithms, often referred to as "Black Hat SEO," can lead to penalties from Google.

Constantly Test and Evaluate: The world of SEO is continually changing, and what worked yesterday might not work tomorrow. Regular testing and evaluation are needed to ensure that your SEO tactics are working optimally.