Credit: Paweł Czerwiński Google has developed new tools it says will make it easier for webmasters and publishers of news sites to control how the search engine indexes their content for inclusion in the Google News portal.As of Tuesday, publishers of English-language news sites indexed by Google News will be able to include them in Google’s Webmaster Tools service.This means that publishers and webmasters will be able to specify through a site map the articles they want Google News to index. A site map is a file that webmasters and publishers put on their sites to guide search engines’ automated Web crawlers in properly indexing their webpages.Webmasters and publishers will also be able to see a list of their latest articles featured on Google News, as well as a list of indexing errors made by the automated Google crawler, so that the problems can be addressed. Previously, publishers’ control over Google News’ indexing was more rudimentary, limited mostly to including an instruction to prevent the crawler from accessing certain pages.Before launching the new site map tools, the company tested them with several news organizations, said Nathan Stoll, Google News product manager. Stoll said publishers had asked for more “transparency and control” of what content is indexed specifically by Google News. Google News is a portal for news in which Google aggregates headlines, short text snippets and thumbnail pictures linked to the original articles on news organizations’ websites. Google News is at the center of a lawsuit brought by the news agency Agence France Presse, which alleges copyright infringement from Google’s inclusion of its material on the portal.Tuesday’s announcement follows last week’s news that Google, Microsoft and Yahoo will support the open-source, XML-based Sitemap Protocol.This protocol, which was developed by Google, will simplify how webmasters and online publishers submit their sites’ content for indexing in the companies’ search engines.By Juan Carlos Perez and Mike Barton, IDG News Service (Miami Bureau)Related Links: Google, Yahoo, Microsoft Team to Help Webmasters Google Accidentally Sends Kama Sutra Worm Google May Help Doctors Diagnose MaladiesCheck out our CIO News Alerts and Tech Informer pages for more updated news coverage. Related content brandpost Sponsored by Freshworks When your AI chatbots mess up AI ‘hallucinations’ present significant business risks, but new types of guardrails can keep them from doing serious damage By Paul Gillin Dec 08, 2023 4 mins Generative AI brandpost Sponsored by Dell New research: How IT leaders drive business benefits by accelerating device refresh strategies Security leaders have particular concerns that older devices are more vulnerable to increasingly sophisticated cyber attacks. By Laura McEwan Dec 08, 2023 3 mins Infrastructure Management case study Toyota transforms IT service desk with gen AI To help promote insourcing and quality control, Toyota Motor North America is leveraging generative AI for HR and IT service desk requests. By Thor Olavsrud Dec 08, 2023 7 mins Employee Experience Generative AI ICT Partners feature CSM certification: Costs, requirements, and all you need to know The Certified ScrumMaster (CSM) certification sets the standard for establishing Scrum theory, developing practical applications and rules, and leading teams and stakeholders through the development process. By Moira Alexander Dec 08, 2023 8 mins Certifications IT Skills Project Management Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe