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 A guide to hybrid cloud deployment for innovation without disruption How do organizations balance their on-premises preferences and requisites with the crucial need to innovate? By Ahmed Helmy, Global Vice President, Avaya Experience Platform Product Management Jun 07, 2023 3 mins Hybrid Cloud brandpost Bringing AI to your organization? Better bring the right database Why Apache Cassandra offers the scalability, reliability, and speed required for building artificial intelligence applications. By Patrick McFadin Jun 07, 2023 7 mins Machine Learning Artificial Intelligence feature 7 ways to spot hidden IT talent within your ranks Your organization has hidden IT superstars in the making — both within and outside IT. Here’s how to find and elevate them for maximum impact. By John Edwards Jun 07, 2023 8 mins Staff Management feature The NBA’s digital transformation is a game-changer The National Basketball Association’s move to Azure cloud is helping improve fan experience and in-game performance due to analytics- and AI-assisted tools aimed at unlocking data’s full potential. By Paula Rooney Jun 07, 2023 9 mins Microsoft Azure Media and Entertainment Industry Digital Transformation 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