Image Sitemap Generator
Build an image sitemap that groups your images under the pages they appear on, with optional captions and titles.
How to use it
- List each image next to the page it appears on, one per line, as
page URL | image URL | caption | title. Caption and title are optional. - Repeat the same page URL for every image on that page - the tool groups them under one
<url>entry automatically. - Copy or download the
image-sitemap.xmland upload it to your domain root. - Reference it in your
robots.txtwith aSitemap:line and submit it in Search Console.
What it does, and what it does not
It does: build a valid image sitemap using the image: namespace, grouping every image under its page, with optional caption and title, and escaping special characters correctly.
It does not: crawl your pages to find images - you provide the list, which means you control exactly which images are submitted. It also does not host or optimise the images themselves.
Reference
Google dropped the dedicated image sitemap report from Search Console some years ago, but the image sitemap extension itself still works and is still documented as a valid way to tell Google about images it might not otherwise discover - especially images loaded by JavaScript, served from a CDN on another host, or referenced in CSS rather than an <img> tag. If image search matters to your business - recipes, products, property, travel, anything visual - it is worth doing.
The format extends a normal sitemap. Each page sits in a <url> block with its <loc>, and every image on that page is listed inside an <image:image> element containing an <image:loc> with the image URL. You can add an <image:caption> and an <image:title> to give Google context, which this tool supports. The namespace declaration at the top of the file is what makes those image: tags valid, and it is included for you.
A few practical notes. List up to 1,000 images per page. Use the canonical, absolute URL for each image, and make sure those images are not blocked by robots.txt - a blocked image cannot be indexed no matter how carefully you list it. You can put the image entries in your normal sitemap or keep them in a separate image sitemap; a separate file is easier to manage and is what this tool produces. Once it is live, add it to robots.txt and submit it in Search Console alongside your main sitemap.
Questions
Does Google still support image sitemaps?
Yes. The Search Console report was retired, but the image sitemap extension is still valid and documented. It helps Google find images that are hard to discover, such as CDN-hosted or JavaScript-loaded images.
How many images can one page have?
Up to 1,000 images per page URL in the sitemap. List each one in its own image:image block under that page.
Do captions and titles help?
They give Google extra context about each image, which can help with image search. They are optional - leave them blank if you do not have them.
Can I combine images with my normal sitemap?
Yes, the image tags can go in your standard sitemap. A separate image sitemap is simply easier to manage, which is what this tool builds.
Why are my images not indexed?
The most common cause is that the images are blocked by robots.txt. A blocked image cannot be indexed even if it is in the sitemap. Check your crawl rules first.