Question: How can I create a Google News Sitemap?

Creating a Google News sitemap differs somewhat from creating a standard XML sitemap. While the standard version is meant for search engines to better crawl and index the entire site, a Google News sitemap is specifically tailored to ensure timely crawling of news articles by Google News.

Here's a basic guide on how you can create your Google News Sitemap:

1. Identify the News Articles: Google News sitemaps can only include URLs for articles published in the last two days. Ensure that the articles also meet Google News content policies.

2. Create an XML file: Start by creating an XML file which will serve as your sitemap. It should have the .xml extension.

3. Write the basic structure: Every sitemap must start with the following lines:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<urlset xmlns="http://www.sitemaps.org/schemas/sitemap/0.9"
xmlns:news="http://www.google.com/schemas/sitemap-news/0.9">
</urlset>

4. Add URL Entries: For each article, you need to add a <url> entry that contains <loc> (the URL of the page) and <news:news> sections. The <news:news> section contains details about the news article.

Here's an example for one entry:

<url>
  <loc>https://www.example.com/article1.html</loc>
  <news:news>
     <news:publication>
        <news:name>Example News</news:name>
        <news:language>en</news:language>
     </news:publication>
     <news:publication_date>2023-11-21T17:00:00Z</news:publication_date>
     <news:title>Article 1 title</news:title>
  </news:news>
</url>

5. Validate your Sitemap: Once you've added all your URLs, validate your sitemap with a sitemap validator to ensure it follows the correct format.

6. Submit your Sitemap: Submit your sitemap through Google Search Console. Go to 'Sitemaps' and add the URL of your sitemap file.

White you can benefit from having both types, it's important to note that Google News Sitemaps are supplemental and should not replace general web sitemaps.