Google has added an interesting new feature to Google News. Now, when you do a search, near the top of the results, you will see a button to follow news for that query. 

When you click the button, it will add that query to the topic list on the left-hand side of the screen, as well as create a custom section on the Google News homepage dedicated to that topic. 

For example, if I search on Google News for "facebook", and click the button, Facebook is added to my topic list:

There is also now a Facebook section on my Google News homepage:

Google has allowed you to customize your news experience in similar ways for quite some time, but the button simply provides a call-to-action, and like just like a call-to-action in an advertisement, it will encourage clicks and further use of this kind of customization, and therefore enhance the Google News experience for users. 

The result of this is keeping people interested in using Google News, and let’s face it – it’s not quite as critical of a go-to source for news these days, as many Facebook and Twitter users are using these services as news readers. 

Google has done a lot over the last year to keep Google News interesting, and it will have to continue to do so to keep traffic from going elsewhere. 

(Hat tip: Barry Schwartz)