SOP: Google News sitemap

SOP: Google News sitemap
Different rules from a standard sitemap. Follow exactly.

Step 1 — Namespace: xmlns:news="http://www.google.com/schemas/sitemap-news/0.9"

Step 2 — ✅ Include ONLY articles published in the last 48 hours. Older URLs must be removed.

Step 3 — Per-file cap is stricter: ✅ Max 1,000 URLs per news sitemap (not 50k).

Step 4 — Each entry requires news:publication (name + language), publication_date (W3C with timezone), and title.

Step 5 — Regenerate continuously so the 48h window stays accurate; stale entries get the file rejected.

Step 6 — Keep this file separate from your main sitemap; don't merge.

Definition of done: ≤1,000 URLs, every article ≤48h old, all required news tags present, file refreshes automatically as articles age out.