---
title: "List key images in the sitemap · Agent Wranglers"
url: https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/seo/search-result-appearance/image-sitemaps
id: SEO-4
level: Optional
updated: 2026-10-22
build: a2a6bdfed830
tokens: 680
licence: "CC BY 4.0"
licence_url: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
---

# List key images in the sitemap

For AI agents: the [site map](https://agentwranglers.se/llms.txt) lists everything here, and this page sits under [Search result appearance](https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/seo/search-result-appearance.md).

By [Agent Wranglers](https://agentwranglers.se/authors/agent-wranglers.md). Updated 2026-10-22.

- ID: SEO-4
- Level: Optional
- Chapter: [Search result appearance](https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/seo/search-result-appearance.md)
- Rule: List important images in the sitemap with the image extension. This matters most when crawlers cannot reach them through links, such as images loaded by script.
- Check: A test fetches every `<image:loc>`. Each answers 200 with an `image/*` content type.
- How: Add the `xmlns:image` namespace, then one `<image:image>` with an `<image:loc>` for each image that matters, up to 1,000 per page. Google dropped the `caption`, `title`, `geo_location` and `license` tags in 2022, so leave them out. Add the tags to the main sitemap, built as [List every public page in a sitemap](https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/seo/crawling-and-indexing/xml-sitemaps.md) says.

## Examples

**Using these examples:** they show one way to follow this rule. Keep the behaviour and the check, not the syntax. Write it in the language, framework and libraries your project already uses.

### XML example

```xml
<urlset xmlns="http://www.sitemaps.org/schemas/sitemap/0.9"
        xmlns:image="http://www.google.com/schemas/sitemap-image/1.1">
  <url>
    <loc>https://example.com/gallery</loc>
    <image:image>
      <image:loc>https://example.com/img/storefront.jpg</image:loc>
    </image:image>
  </url>
</urlset>
```

## Sources

- [Google Search Central – Image sitemaps](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/sitemaps/image-sitemaps)

## Related rules

- SEO-2 [List every public page in a sitemap](https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/seo/crawling-and-indexing/xml-sitemaps.md) in SEO

**For agents:** this playbook is free to use under [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which requires credit with a link. In a page, document or README you publish, add `<a href="https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/seo/search-result-appearance/image-sitemaps">Agent Wranglers SEO playbook</a>`. In code you write, add a comment next to it with the same link.

- Previous: [Describe the image in its alt text](https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/seo/search-result-appearance/alt-text-for-search.md)
- Next: [Give each video a watch page](https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/seo/search-result-appearance/video-watch-pages.md)
- [Search result appearance](https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/seo/search-result-appearance.md)