SEO6 min read·Updated

Image Sitemaps and WebP URLs

Image sitemaps are optional for most sites. If you have one, update it when you convert: `image:loc` should be the WebP the page uses. A sitemap full of 404 JPEGs is worse than no image sitemap.

Sitemap follows the HTML

Google finds most images through pages. The sitemap is a hint. After a WebP migration, regenerate it from live markup, do not hand-edit 10,000 rows.

Why it matters

  • Ecommerce plugins generate stale image sitemaps.
  • Converted files 404 if the sitemap is stale.
  • OG JPEGs do not belong as page images in the sitemap.

How to do it

  1. Convert and update pages first.
  2. Regenerate the sitemap from the CMS.
  3. Spot-check 10 image:loc URLs.
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Put it into practice

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Frequently asked questions

No. Only if you already rely on one for discovery.

Yes.

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