Is There an Application for Google Top Stories?
No. Google's Publisher Center help describes Top stories as “a section that may appear within Google Search when we detect a search query is news-oriented,” says “Content is automatically selected for this feature,” and states that “Publishers are automatically considered for “Top stories” or the News tab of Search” (Publisher Center Help). The page describes no sign-up, form or fee, and it promises no page a place.
Google once did run an application. Danny Sullivan, Google's public liaison for Search, wrote in July 2021 that “we previously had an application process to appear in these news products,” and that “this process was retired nearly two years ago when we launched Publisher Center in December 2019.” The same post says a site “is automatically considered for Google News and news surfaces in Search—no application required,” and that its eligibility details “only apply to Google News, Top stories, and the News tab in Search” (Google Search Central Blog).
That answers the question most buyers ask. If a vendor offers to “submit you to Top Stories” or sells a guaranteed slot, the Google pages we read describe no such mechanism.
What Does Google Say Makes Content Eligible?
Google's current help sets two conditions: publishers “just need to produce high-quality content and comply with Google News content policies” (Publisher Center Help). The 2021 FAQ is more specific. It says a site needs content identified as “Having high levels of expertise, authority, and trustworthiness,” “Having a consistent history of producing original news-related content” and “Complying with our News policies” (Google Search Central Blog).
The Google News policies page says that to be eligible for Google News or news surfaces, “content should follow best practices for article pages and must not violate Google Search's overall policies, Google Search's spam policies, or these policies for Search features.” It then lists ten Search feature policies, from dangerous content to vulgar language, and three News-specific ones (Google News policies):
| News-specific policy | What Google says |
|---|---|
| Ads and sponsored content | “We don't allow content that conceals or misrepresents sponsored content as independent, editorial content.” Sponsorship “should be clearly disclosed to readers” |
| Misleading content | No “preview content that misleads users to engage with it by promising details which aren't reflected in the underlying content” |
| Transparency | News sources should provide “Clear dates and bylines,” information about the authors, publication and publisher, information about the company or network behind the content, and contact information |
The page adds that when Google finds violations “we may remove the content from our news surfaces,” and that “In cases of repeated or egregious violations, a site may be no longer eligible to appear on our news surfaces.” The sponsored-content rule matters most to PR buyers; our guide What Google News Requires of Sponsored Content covers it in detail.
How Does Google Rank Stories Once They Are Eligible?
Algorithmically, and not for money. Google's ranking page says Google News “doesn't accept payments to expedite or improve a site's search appearance or ranking,” and that “Participation in an advertising program like AdSense has no effect on ranking.” It says ranking “is algorithmically influenced by a range of factors, including” relevance of content, prominence, authoritativeness, freshness, usability, and location and language (Publisher Center Help).
Google also says, plainly, “We can't provide much feedback regarding ranking.” So no one outside Google can tell a client exactly why a story did or did not appear in the carousel for a given search. Top stories also only appears when Google detects a news-oriented query, so a company's name may never trigger it unless the company is in the news. Our recommendation, not a Google rule: judge Top stories exposure as a side effect of being newsworthy, never as a deliverable.
Do Markup, AMP, Publisher Center or a News Sitemap Get You In?
None of them is a requirement on the Google pages we read. Each has a narrower job.
| Item | Required for Top stories? | What Google says | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Article structured data | No | “there's no markup requirement to be eligible for Google News features like Top stories”; “There are no required properties” | Google Search Central |
| AMP | No, since 2021 | The carousel would “include all news content, as long as it meets the Google News policies. This means that using the AMP format is no longer required” | Google Search Central Blog |
| Core Web Vitals score | No | “any page, irrespective of its Core Web Vitals score or page experience status, will be eligible to appear in the Top Stories carousel” | Google Search Central Blog |
| Publisher Center | No | Being approved to use it, submitting content or having a News source page “does not mean content will appear in” news surfaces such as Top stories | Google Search Central Blog |
| News sitemap | Not stated as a requirement | A way for publishers to tell Google about articles; “Only include recent URLs for articles that were created in the last two days” | Google Search Central |
The AMP and Core Web Vitals statements come from an April 19, 2021 announcement that Google itself now flags as possibly outdated, and we found no later Google page reinstating either requirement. Markup is optional, not useless: our guide Does Article Markup Help Coverage Rank? covers what it does and does not do. Publisher Center, per the 2021 FAQ, helps a publisher “manage content that's deemed eligible,” but “eligibility itself is determined through the automated process”; set-up is in How to Set Up Google News Publisher Center.
How Can You Tell Whether a Site Appears in Top Stories?
Use Search Console, not a site: search. Google's 2021 FAQ says “It's best to look at the performance reports on Search Console for Google News and Google Search (filtered to the News search type),” and warns that a site: query on Google News or the News tab can show pages are indexed but “doesn't mean that those pages are eligible to appear for news searches” (Google Search Central Blog).
For a company that is being covered rather than publishing, the practical check is the outlet's side: ask whether the outlet already receives Google News traffic. An outlet with no history of news surfaces is unlikely to carry your story there, whatever it charges. For sites that do not appear, Google's advice in the same post is to keep “regularly producing original news content” and notes its systems “will automatically detect if a site has risen to better meet the criteria.”
Can Readers Make a Source More Likely to Appear?
Yes, for themselves. Google's preferred sources documentation says that when a user selects a site as a preferred source, its content is more likely to appear for that user in “Top Stories,” highlighted with a “preferred” badge. Only domain-level and subdomain-level sites qualify, and the promotional buttons Google offers are optional: “It's not required to do them in order to appear as a preferred source” (Google Search Central, last updated September 18, 2026). This changes what an individual reader sees, not general eligibility. Our guide What Is Google Preferred Sources? covers the feature in full.
What This Means for Anyone Buying a Placement
If the goal is Top stories, the target is a news outlet Google already treats as eligible, and a story newsworthy enough that the outlet reports it. Payment buys neither: Google News says it does not accept payments to improve ranking, and an outlet's coverage is its own editorial decision. A sponsored article is advertising, and Google's News policies require that sponsorship be “clearly disclosed to readers.”
Our recommendations, not Google rules: ask any seller exactly what they will submit, to whom, and what they claim happens next; decline any “Top Stories guarantee”; and check the outlet's news track record before paying for anything placed on it. A company's own blog is unlikely to qualify unless it has what Google's 2021 FAQ calls “a consistent history of producing original news-related content.” For a neighboring surface with its own rules, see How to Get Into Google Discover.
Methodology and Limitations
Four limits apply. First, we read Google's help pages, documentation and two Search Central blog posts on October 19, 2026; the help pages are undated and the 2021 posts are old, and Google flags the April 2021 post as possibly outdated. Second, Google does not publish how its ranking factors are weighted, so this guide describes eligibility and stated factors, not a ranking formula. Third, we did not test whether any site appears in Top stories. Fourth, Google's 2021 eligibility criteria (expertise, authority, trustworthiness, a history of original news content) are not repeated word for word on the current help page, which says only “high-quality content”; we give both and treat the current page as the operative one.
Conclusion
There is no door marked Top stories. Google says it considers publishers automatically, retired its application in 2019, does not take payment for ranking, and requires neither markup nor AMP. What gets a story there is being news on a site Google treats as a news source, published with clear dates, bylines and publisher details, inside Google's News policies. Anyone selling a shortcut is selling something Google says does not exist.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you get into Google Top Stories?
There is no application. Google says publishers are “automatically considered” if they produce high-quality content and comply with Google News content policies.
Can you pay to appear in Top Stories?
No. Google says Google News “doesn't accept payments to expedite or improve a site's search appearance or ranking,” and no seller can promise a slot.
Is AMP required for Top Stories?
No. Google said in April 2021 that “using the AMP format is no longer required” for the Top Stories carousel, and we found no later page reversing that.
Do you need schema markup for Top Stories?
No. Google's Article documentation says there is “no markup requirement” to be eligible for Google News features like Top stories.
Does Google Publisher Center get you into Top Stories?
No. Google says using Publisher Center or having a News source page “does not mean content will appear” in Top stories; eligibility is automated.
How do you check whether your site appears in Top Stories?
Google recommends Search Console's performance reports for Google News and for Google Search filtered to the News search type.
Sources and Methodology
This guide is built from Google's Publisher Center help pages, Google News policies, Search Central documentation on Article structured data, news sitemaps and preferred sources, and two Search Central blog posts from 2021, all read October 19, 2026. House advice is labeled as ours. We did not test any site's appearance in Top stories.
- official Google Publisher Center Help, News content across Google. Supports the Top stories description and automatic consideration. Read October 19, 2026.
- official Google Publisher Center Help, Google News policies. Supports eligibility conditions, the sponsored, misleading and transparency policies, and removal. Read October 19, 2026.
- official Google Publisher Center Help, Ranking within Google News. Supports no payments, AdSense and the ranking factors. Read October 19, 2026.
- official Google Search Central Blog, “Answers to some common questions about appearing in Google News” by Danny Sullivan, July 16, 2021. Supports the retired application, 2021 eligibility criteria, Publisher Center limits and Search Console checks. Read October 19, 2026.
- official Google Search Central Blog, “More time, tools, and details on the page experience update,” April 19, 2021. Supports AMP and Core Web Vitals no longer required for Top Stories. Read October 19, 2026.
- platform documentation Google Search Central, Article structured data. Supports no markup requirement and no required properties. Read October 19, 2026.
- platform documentation Google Search Central, “News sitemaps,” last updated December 10, 2025. Supports the two-day rule. Read October 19, 2026.
- platform documentation Google Search Central, “Preferred sources,” last updated September 18, 2026. Supports the preferred source badge and eligibility. Read October 19, 2026.