News sitemaps
A News sitemap uses Google's news sitemap extension to help Google News discover recent articles. It is specialized: include only articles published in the last two days, limit it to 1,000 URLs, and update it as new articles appear. This page covers the news namespace tags, the constraints, and how News sitemaps differ from standard sitemaps.
What this means
A News sitemap is a standard sitemap with Google's news namespace, where each url includes a news:news block describing the article's publication and publication date and title. It helps Google News discover newly published content quickly.
It is specific to Google News inclusion — it is not a general crawling sitemap, and a site that is not in Google News will not benefit from one.
Constraints
A News sitemap should contain only articles published in the last two days; remove articles older than that. It is limited to 1,000 URLs — if you have more recent articles than that, use multiple News sitemaps. Update the sitemap as new articles are published so Google can find them while they are fresh.
The core news tags are news:publication (with the publication name and language), news:publication_date (the article's publish date/time), and news:title. These must match the article.
- Only articles from the last ~48 hours
- Limited to 1,000 URLs per News sitemap
- Required: news:publication, publication_date, title
- Update continuously as articles are published
How it differs from a regular sitemap
A regular sitemap lists all canonical URLs you want crawled, with no recency requirement, and can hold up to 50,000 URLs. A News sitemap is the opposite: a small, constantly rotating list of only the most recent articles, optimized for fast discovery in Google News.
Use both: keep your standard sitemap for full coverage and a News sitemap for timely article discovery. The News sitemap does not replace the regular one and is only relevant for Google News participants.
How it appears in analytics and logs
A News sitemap signals recently published articles to Google News. It only applies to sites included in Google News and only for articles from roughly the last 48 hours. It aids timely discovery; it is not a general sitemap and does not replace one.
Diagnostic use case
Help Google News find your recent articles quickly by maintaining a News sitemap with the required publication metadata and the freshness constraints.
What WebmasterID can help detect
WebmasterID shows which crawlers fetch your article URLs and the responses, helping confirm that newly published articles listed in the News sitemap are reachable and return 200 to crawlers promptly.
Common mistakes
- Leaving articles older than two days in the News sitemap.
- Exceeding 1,000 URLs in a single News sitemap instead of splitting.
- Treating a News sitemap as a replacement for a standard sitemap.
- Adding a News sitemap for a site not included in Google News.
Privacy and accuracy notes
News sitemaps reference published article URLs and publication metadata, not readers. WebmasterID records crawler fetches of those URLs as bot events and stores no reader data.
Frequently asked questions
- How recent must articles in a News sitemap be?
- Only include articles published in the last two days, and remove older ones. A News sitemap is designed for timely discovery of fresh articles in Google News, not for full-site coverage.
- Does a News sitemap replace my regular sitemap?
- No. A News sitemap is a small, frequently updated list of recent articles capped at 1,000 URLs. Keep a standard sitemap for complete coverage of all your canonical URLs.
Related pages
- XML sitemap best practices
An XML sitemap lists URLs you want crawled, helping search engines discover pages they might miss through links alone. The format has firm limits — 50,000 URLs and 50MB uncompressed per file — and works best when it contains only canonical, indexable, 200-status URLs with accurate lastmod values. This page covers the documented rules and the common quality problems that make a sitemap less useful.
- Sitemap lastmod accuracy
The lastmod element in a sitemap reports when a URL's content last changed. Google uses lastmod to prioritize recrawling only when the value is consistently accurate; if every URL shows the generation date or the homepage date, Google learns to distrust and ignore it. This page explains correct lastmod semantics, format, and the consequences of inaccuracy.
- Video sitemaps
Video sitemap information uses Google's video sitemap extension to describe videos on a page — title, description, thumbnail, and either a content or player URL — so Google can discover and understand them for video features. This page covers the required video namespace tags, the relationship to VideoObject structured data, and common pitfalls.
- Website observability
Confirm newly published article URLs are reachable to crawlers quickly.
Sources and verification notes
- Google Search Central — Create a Google News sitemap48-hour window, 1,000-URL limit, and required news tags.
Last reviewed 2026-06-24. Facts are checked against primary/official sources where available; uncertain specifics are marked “Data not yet verified” rather than guessed.