News Sitemap
A news sitemap is a special XML sitemap that lists a publisher’s most recent articles, along with the publication name, language, date and headline. It helps Google find fresh news content quickly for surfaces such as Google News and Top Stories.
How a news sitemap works
A news sitemap uses Google’s news namespace. Each URL entry contains a <news:news> block with:
- news:publication: the publication’s name and the article’s language code.
- news:publication_date: when the article was first published, in W3C date format.
- news:title: the article’s headline.
Unlike a standard XML sitemap, which lists every indexable page, a news sitemap is a rolling list of recent articles only. Its job is speed: helping Google spot breaking stories within minutes, when interest in a topic is at its peak.
The key rules
- Two days: only include articles published in the last two days. Older articles can stay in your regular sitemap.
- 1,000 URLs: a news sitemap can hold up to 1,000 URLs. Busy publishers split them into several files listed in a sitemap index.
- Update constantly: add new articles as they are published rather than creating a new sitemap each time.
- Name consistency: the publication name should match how your publication appears in Google News.
Who needs one
News sitemaps are for sites that publish timely news journalism: newspapers, magazines, broadcasters, trade publications and specialist news blogs. They are not useful for evergreen guides, product pages or company announcements on a business blog.
A news sitemap does not make a site eligible for Google News by itself. Google decides which sites appear based on its news content policies and signals of quality and reliability. Google states that sites do not need to apply to appear in Google News: eligible content is found automatically. Google News SEO covers the wider picture, including transparency about authors and editorial standards.
How to set one up
- Check whether your CMS or a news SEO plugin can generate a news sitemap automatically.
- Include only news articles, not category pages, tag pages or videos.
- Use the article’s original publication date, not the date of minor edits.
- Reference the sitemap in robots.txt and submit it in Search Console.
- Monitor the sitemap report for errors and check that new articles appear within minutes of publishing.
Pair the sitemap with accurate date signals on the page itself, such as a visible publication date and Article structured data, so every source tells Google the same story.
Common mistakes
- Leaving articles older than two days in the news sitemap.
- Changing publication dates to make old articles look new, which can break trust with Google.
- Including non-news content such as how-to guides or landing pages.
- Using a different publication name in different places.
- Expecting the sitemap alone to earn a place in Top Stories.
Further reading: Google’s news sitemap documentation.
Key Takeaways
- A news sitemap lists a publisher’s articles from the last two days.
- Each entry includes the publication name, language, date and headline.
- It can hold up to 1,000 URLs and should update as articles go live.
- It helps discovery but does not by itself earn a place in Google News.
- Only true news publishers benefit from a news sitemap.
Related Terms
Browse more terms in the SEO Encyclopedia.