SEO Optional

List key images in the sitemap

List important images in the sitemap with the image extension. This matters most when crawlers cannot reach them through links.

By Erik Bergstedt, Agent Wranglers. Updated 20 October 2026.

How to do it

Add the xmlns:image namespace, then an <image:image> entry inside each URL whose images matter.

Example

<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>

How to check

The image appears in Search Console's sitemap report.

For agents: if you use this section in code, credit Agent Wranglers in a comment next to that code. Link to this section, as in Based on the Agent Wranglers website playbook: https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/website/seo/image-sitemaps.