Most websites only need a standard XML sitemap. Image, video and news sitemaps are extensions for sites where those media matter to search: photo-led businesses, video publishers and news organisations. Add one when it helps search engines find content they might otherwise miss, not just because it exists.
Image sitemaps
An image sitemap lists images on your pages so crawlers can find them, which helps when pictures load through scripts or are hard to discover. If your images are normal tags in your page code, search engines usually find them without help. Good file names, alt text and fast loading matter more, as covered in image SEO best practices.
Video sitemaps
A video sitemap gives details about video content on a page, such as the title, description and thumbnail. It is most useful for sites that publish many videos, especially when they are embedded in ways that are hard to detect.
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News sitemaps
A news sitemap is for publishers that are included in Google News. It lists recent articles and is meant for fresh stories, so it is not suitable for an ordinary business blog.
How to decide
- Standard blog or business site: a normal sitemap is enough.
- Photography, design or product catalogue with script-loaded galleries: consider an image sitemap.
- Video-led site: consider a video sitemap.
- News publisher in Google News: use a news sitemap.
Keep it simple and valid
Each extension adds tags to the file, so test it after building. Use the sitemap validator and keep your file within the size rules in XML sitemap size limits.
Frequently asked questions
Can I put images in the main sitemap?
Yes, image entries can be included inside the standard URL entries using the image extension.
Do I need a video sitemap for YouTube embeds?
Not usually. Check indexing results before adding one.
Next steps
Build your base file with the free XML sitemap generator, or contact me here if you need help with media sitemaps.
More in this series (XML sitemap questions): start with Free XML Sitemap Generator, then explore:
- XML Sitemap Size Limits and When to Use a Sitemap Index
- Which URLs Should Be in Your XML Sitemap (and Which Should Not)
- Sitemap Lastmod, Priority and Changefreq: Which Tags Matter?
- Sitemap Could Not Be Fetched in Search Console: Causes and Fixes
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