Hi Barry,

The purpose of that 3-digit min unique identifier is to make sure the filename is unique.  We recommend our clients add it to the tail end of the URL as part of the filename, so headline-of-article-12345.html

It's a requirement before you apply.  If you're already accepted as a publisher, make sure your News XML is working properly.  You should also start incorporating the new meta keywords tag for GN publishers.  We covered that update recently: http://www.brafton.com/news/google-rolls-out-news_keywords-metatag-to-identify-news-content

Jim

All things being equal, one website has 20 pages of content around a topic and another has thousands of pages of unique content, which is likely more of a resource for the searcher?  The larger website.

That being said, Google looks at 100+ ranking factors so if you have hundreds of authoritative c-blocks linking to a landing page on a small site it could rank well for the keyword you're focused on.