Should you really separate sitemaps for pages and images?

Why is there confusion between page and image sitemaps?

The SEO ecosystem has long debated the best way to structure sitemaps. Some CMSs and plugins automatically generate separate files — one for pages, one for images, sometimes one for videos. This practice has created the illusion that separation is recommended or even mandatory.

In reality, Google treats all sitemaps the same way. A single file containing both <url> and <image:image> tags works perfectly. The separation is merely a question of personal organization, not technical efficiency. The crawler makes no distinction — it parses the XML, extracts the URLs, and schedules crawls according to its own priorities.

What are the real limits to observe?

Google imposes clear technical constraints: a sitemap file cannot exceed 50 MB (uncompressed) or contain more than 50,000 URLs. These limits apply regardless of the nature of the URLs — pages, images, videos, or a mix of all.

If your site exceeds these thresholds, you must divide your sitemap. But the logic of cutting it is not important. You can separate by content type, site section, publication date, or even in a totally arbitrary way. Crawling and indexing will not be affected, as long as the limits are respected.

In what extreme cases does structure matter?

Mueller mentions a critical threshold: one million separate sitemap files. At this volume, multiplying files can create processing issues on Google's side — increased latency, timeouts, parsing errors. But let's be honest: this scenario affects a tiny minority of sites.

For almost all projects, even those with hundreds of thousands of pages, the structure of sitemaps remains a non-issue. What truly matters is the quality of the submitted URLs, their relevance, and the consistency between what the sitemap reports and what the site actually delivers.

• A single sitemap file can mix pages and images without any impact on crawling
• Respect the limits of 50 MB and 50,000 URLs per file — the rest is flexible
• Separation by content type offers no technical advantage; it's just a matter of organization
• Extreme cases (> 1 million files) are extremely rare and concern giant platforms
• Focus on the quality of URLs rather than the structure of files

Does this statement align with real-world observations?

Yes, absolutely. Empirical tests show that Google indexes URLs from a unified sitemap or separate sitemaps indiscriminately. No correlation has ever been established between sitemap structure and indexing speed, coverage rate, or ranking.

Yet, some SEO tools and WordPress plugins continue to generate separate files by default. This practice is not harmful, but it creates an unnecessary complexity in technical management. More files to maintain, submit to Search Console, and monitor for errors. And for what benefit? Zero.

What nuances should be added to this statement?

Mueller refers to 'extreme cases' with a million sitemap files. [To be verified]: Google has never published precise documentation on the exact threshold where file multiplication becomes problematic. This million seems like an empirical estimate, not a documented technical limit.

Another point: the statement says nothing about the crawling priority between content types. If you mix 10,000 strategic pages with 200,000 decorative images in a single sitemap, Google will not distinguish. It will crawl according to its own prioritization algorithm, regardless of your file structure. If certain pages are critical, other factors (internal linking, update frequency, content quality) will have infinitely more impact than an artificial separation in sitemaps.

In what cases does this rule not apply?

Be careful if you use enriched video sitemaps. The <video:video> tags are heavier than standard image tags because they include detailed metadata (duration, thumbnail, title, description). A file that mixes pages, images, and videos can quickly explode in size — especially if you have thousands of videos.

In this specific case, a separation by media type becomes pragmatic, not for indexing reasons, but to stay under the 50 MB limit. This is a technical constraint, not an SEO recommendation. Google doesn't care about your organization — you need to manage your file sizes.

What should you actually do with your current sitemaps?

If you already have separate sitemaps that work, don't change anything. There's no gain from merging them. The time spent restructuring would be better invested elsewhere — log analysis, internal linking optimization, detecting outdated content.

However, if you are launching a new project or revamping your technical architecture, go for simplicity. A single sitemap file (or an index with a few files if you exceed the limits) is sufficient. Less complexity = fewer potential points of failure.

What mistakes should you avoid in managing sitemaps?

First classic mistake: multiplying files without reason. Some sites have 50 sitemap files for a total of 20,000 URLs. That's technical noise that complicates diagnostics and slows maintenance. If you're not hitting the 50 MB or 50,000 URLs limits, a single file will suffice.

Second trap: mixing URLs of uneven quality. A sitemap is not a dump. If you include 404 pages, redirects, duplicate content, or low-value URLs, you dilute the signal sent to Google. The sitemap should be a quality filter, not a raw inventory of everything on the site.

How can you check if your structure is optimal?

Audit your sitemap files in the Search Console. Google clearly indicates errors: URLs blocked by robots.txt, pages returning 4xx or 5xx codes, cascading redirects. If your sitemap is clean, the 'Detected' column should roughly match the 'Indexed' column.

Also check the size and number of URLs in each file. If you have several files well below the limits, you can merge them. If a file approaches 50 MB, split it before it becomes a problem. And if you notice hundreds of files for a medium-sized site, that's a symptom of poor configuration — often linked to a poorly configured plugin.

• Audit your current sitemaps: how many files, what size, what indexing rate in Search Console
• Merge unnecessarily separate files if you are well below the 50 MB / 50,000 URLs limits
• Clean up problematic URLs: 404s, redirects, duplicate or low-quality content
• Simplify your structure: a single file or an index with a few logically divided files
• Document your reasoning for splitting if you have multiple files, to facilitate future maintenance
• Automate generation to avoid manual omissions or errors