Should You Exclude News from the Regular Sitemap If You Have a Separate News Sitemap?
As more web publishers integrate with Google News and Bing News, a common question arises: should you remove news content from your regular sitemap once you’ve created a dedicated News sitemap? The short, industry-backed answer: no, you should not exclude news from your main sitemap.
Here’s a detailed breakdown of the reasoning and best practices for managing both your regular and News sitemaps effectively.
✅ Understanding the Two Types of Sitemaps
To make informed decisions, it helps to understand what each sitemap does:
| Sitemap Type | Primary Purpose | Consumed By |
|---|---|---|
| Regular Sitemap | Lists all indexable content on your site | Google Search, Bing Search |
| News Sitemap | Highlights news articles published in the past 48 hours | Google News, Bing News |
The News sitemap serves a very specific function: it boosts visibility in news-specific channels for fresh articles. However, this visibility is short-lived — Google News only considers articles from the past 48 hours. Once that window passes, the News sitemap no longer supports those articles.
❌ Why You Shouldn’t Exclude News from the Regular Sitemap
Some publishers assume that separating news into its own sitemap means it no longer belongs in the regular sitemap. That’s a misconception.
Google’s guidance is clear: include all indexable content in your main sitemap, even if it’s also in a specialized sitemap like News, Images, or Videos. Removing news articles from your regular sitemap could hinder long-term discoverability in standard Google Search results after the initial 48-hour news window expires.
🧠 Best Practices for Sitemap Structure
To ensure optimal indexing and visibility across search surfaces, follow this approach:
- Regular Sitemap:
Include all articles — news, reviews, evergreen content, how-tos, etc.
This ensures long-term indexing in Google Search and Bing. - News Sitemap:
Include only news articles published in the past 48 hours.
This targets Google News and Bing News for timely visibility. - Avoiding Duplication Issues:
Search engines are built to handle overlapping entries in different sitemaps.
There’s no risk of SEO penalty or duplication issues when a single article appears in both your News and regular sitemaps.
🔧 Implementation Tips for Publishers
- Sitemap Plugins:
Most SEO or sitemap plugins (like Yoast, Rank Math, or All in One SEO) handle this correctly by default. But it’s a good idea to double-check your settings:- Make sure your regular sitemap isn’t filtering out recent posts.
- Ensure your News sitemap is only pulling eligible content (typically via a category or post type filter).
- Content Freshness and Crawlability:
News articles often gain the most traffic shortly after publication. The dual presence in both sitemaps ensures early visibility in news feeds and continued ranking potential in organic search.
🚀 Final Takeaway for Publishers
Keep your regular sitemap comprehensive.
Include all your site’s content — including news — regardless of what’s in your News sitemap.
Your News sitemap is a supplement, not a replacement. It gives your freshest news content a short-term boost but doesn’t diminish the role of your regular sitemap in long-term SEO success.
If you’re unsure how your sitemap is currently structured, or want to confirm your plugin’s configuration, it’s worth taking a few minutes to review it — or reaching out to your SEO tool’s support for clarity. A properly maintained sitemap strategy is a quiet but powerful part of staying discoverable in both search and news ecosystems.