A beginner's guide to Google News

Google News is a custom internet newspaper containing articles from over 4,000 sources, which includes all of the regular search functions of Google. Though it has undergone several changes over the years, the core feel remains essentially the same.

If you’ve never used the site before, we’ve broken down some of its functions and features below.

Browsing the homepage

As not every website is a specific news site, Google News restricts your searches to only items Google classifies as news, making finding articles easier than ever.

When you go on to Google News, the day’s top stories are listed towards the top of the page. Scrolling down on the homepage will reveal more specific categories, such as World, US, Business, Entertainment, Sports, Health, Technology and Science.

Most of the suggestions are based on assumptions Google makes about news items that would interest you based on your previous searches, but you personalise what you see too.

Customizing your experience

There are several ways you can customise your Google News. First off, you can change your localisation settings so that you always get the latest updates in your area. There’s also the option to create separate sections for news topics from selected publications, plus you can add specific interests to your newsfeed by letting the website know what topics you’d like to see the most.

It’s like having your own personal newspaper at the touch of a button, and it’s all absolutely free.

Main sections of Google News

A list of all of the main news sections can be found on the left of the homepage. To get to a particular type of news quickly, simply click on the group that you’re interested in.

There are also buttons across the top the page that you can click to find specific articles. ‘Headlines’ provides you with news from anywhere in the world, ‘Local’ offers news stories in your current location, and ‘For You’ presents stories that the site puts together based upon your specific interests.

Reading articles

Similar to the way a printed newspaper shows you a section of a news article on the front page that continues on an inside page, Google News items only provide the first paragraph of a story at first glance. To read more, you have to click on the headline, and that will direct you straight to the story's source.

Google News also shows the original source and the date it was published, allowing you to easily find the freshest articles on there. This feature is particularly helpful when it comes to breaking stories.

Check out Google News here and find out what’s going on in the world.