allGoogleXMLNewsmap Configuration Instructions

1. The configuration settings for this extension reside within the component. In order to access the configuration settings, login to the backend of the website where the extension has been installed. Once logged in successfully, access the Components dropdown menu located at the top of the screen and select allGoogleXMLNewsmap (figure 2.1).

Figure 2.1

Configuration – Choosing What Content to Include

1. Once the component backend has loaded successfully, there will be a Parameter pane that appears towards the left hand side (figure 2.2). This pane decides what articles are shown in the sitemap through choosing their categories. Always remember to apply the Parameter changes by clicking on the top right Apply button.

Parameters (Figure 2.2)

Figure 2.2

Categories (Include): Allows for individual category selection in order to choose what articles from the website that Google should be indexing. This is helpful if you have multiple news/blog areas.
Number of Days Old: This specifies how many days to go back from the current date when selecting articles to include into the sitemap.
Frequency: Indicates how frequently the content at a particular URL is likely to change. This element is more of a friendly suggestion to Google and not a command.

Configuration – Testing the Settings

1. After inputting the desired settings into the Parameters Pane and then applying them using the Apply button, it is possible to see what the XML document will output like. In order to test these settings, locate and click on the Test XML button (figure 2.3).

Test (Figure 2.3)

Figure 2.3

2. After clicking the Test XML button, output will then appear in the Testing Output Area pane located towards the bottom right (figure 2.4). This output differs from a normal sitemap, as it creates multiple pages which list up to 1000 articles each. As can be seen from figure 2.4, the news sections selected for Joomtraders had below a thousand articles, and so only a single page was created.

Output (Figure 2.4)

Figure 2.4

Configuration – Submitting a Sitemap to Google

1. Even though a sitemap is being generated by a website, it will not be found by Google until it is told where to locate it. To do this, the website that the extension is installed on will have to be added into Google’s free Webmaster Tools, found at https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/

A Google account is need to access this site. If you do not have one, please create one before proceeding through the Create an account now link located towards the lower right hand side of the Webmaster Tools page (figure 2.5).

If you do have a Google account, please proceed to login using the login box towards the right hand side of the Webmaster Tools page (above figure 2.5).

Create a Google Account (Figure 2.5)

Figure 2.5

2. On the next page that loads, look towards the lower section for a button that reads Add a site... and click on it (figure 2.6).

Figure 2.6

3. Once selected, a dropdown will appear from the button where a website URL can be inserted. Type in the URL that the website with allGoogleXMLNewsmap is installed on (figure 2.7). Click on the Continue button once the web address has been successfully entered.

Add a Site Dropdown (Figure 2.7)

Figure 2.7

4. Once the next page loads, Google Webmaster Tools will ask for the URL that has been entered to be verified. Both methods that it requests, Meta tag and uploading a HTML file, require FTP access to the website where the extension has been installed.

If the Meta tag option is selected, this requires a Meta tag to be inserted into the head of the main index.php file located within the template that the site is using. For example, insert the line of code into the file located at: www.yourwebsite.com/templates/yourtemplate/index.php Once the meta tag has been inserted, click on the Verify button (figure 2.8).

If upload a HTML file is selected, download the HTML file that is offered and upload it to the root directory of the website where the extension is installed. Once this file has been uploaded successfully, click on the Verify button (figure 2.8).

Figure 2.8

5. Once the site has been successfully verified, look towards the bottom right hand side of the Dashboard and click on the Submit a Sitemap link, located beneath the Sitemaps heading (figure 2.9).

Submit a Sitemap (Figure 2.10)

Figure 2.9

6. On the next page that appears, look for the Submit a Sitemap button towards the top of the page (figure 2.10)

Figure 2.10

7. On the dropdown that appears from the Submit a Sitemap button, insert the following URL component/allgooglexmlnewsmap/?task=googlenews&format=raw&is_paging=1&start_point=0 and then click the Submit Sitemap button (figure 2.11).

Submit a Sitemap Dropdown (Figure 2.11)

Figure 2.11

8. After successfully submitting the sitemap, Google will add the sitemap to the list for the specified URL. The end result should look similar to figure 2.12.

Figure 2.12