Google and newspapers: a how to

Google links to everything, including news stories on newspaper websites, everybody benefits.

Yes it makes a few pence each time newspaper stories are shown in Google News search results, but then a user will most like click through to read the full story - that they might not necessarily have otherwise found - on a newspaper site. That's when the party starts:

Tell them where they are: clearly brand site, location of newspaper, any clear aims and objectives of website.

Showcase your site alongside all articles: content related to the article; the best/highlighted articles/content/relevant advertising features/commercial partners.

Give clear opportunity to comment/engage/interact and feedback directly to the journalist/editor.

If a newspaper does all this, they need not complain about Google News' use of their headlines, but start increasing traffic and revenue potential...

Linking within news stories

Responding to Paul Bradshaw's poser: when writing for the web do you think you should include links within an article, or leave it till afterwards?

Well I'm not sure there is a completely fail-safe right or wrong way?

Links within the story make logical sense, as adding them at the end may mean the read has forgotten their purpose or relativity.

Although linking at the end lets the reader read the story without distraction.

But if there are no links, then the stories become dead ends on the website, and that page becomes an exit page rather - BUT the external links take users away anyway?

On our site we add related internal links and useful documents in clearly spaced blocks either at a pertinent point near the top or the end of a story. But specific relevant links go within the flow.