WP Manifestindependent plugin directory
manifest / seo / googlenews

Greenpeace Publisher Center Connector

Solves Google Publisher Center / Google News verification & feed issues for a Planet4 site that lives under a subdirectory (e.g. greenpeace.org/israel) of a domain you do not control the root of. Adds per-path Search Console verification, a Google News XML sitemap scoped to this site only, and NewsArticle structured data on every post.

by Greenpeace Israel · github.com/eaybes/googlenews

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Install

No release zip yet. The repository archive installs, but the folder name will carry the branch suffix and updates will not flow:

wp plugin install https://github.com/eaybes/googlenews/archive/refs/heads/main.zip
Readme github.com/eaybes/googlenews ↗

Created by Elad Aybes.

A WordPress plugin that solves Google Publisher Center / Google News verification and feed problems for a Planet4 site that runs in a subdirectory of a domain it does not control the root of.

The problem

Greenpeace's international domain is www.greenpeace.org. Local Greenpeace sites such as Greenpeace Israel run under a subdirectory of that domain, e.g.:

https://www.greenpeace.org/israel

Greenpeace Israel manages its own Planet4 WordPress install, but has no access to the root of www.greenpeace.org — no DNS access, no FTP/file access to the domain root, nothing above /israel.

This breaks the standard way of verifying a site in Google Search Console / Google Publisher Center, because most guides assume you can either:

  • Verify a Domain property, which requires adding a DNS TXT record at the root of the domain, or
  • Upload an HTML verification file to the web root (https://www.greenpeace.org/google1234.html)

Both require access the local site owner doesn't have. As a result, the local Greenpeace site can't get verified, and its articles never make it into Google News or Discovery recommendations.

The fix

Google Search Console and Publisher Center actually support a second property type that doesn't require root access at all: "URL prefix" verification. A URL-prefix property only needs to prove ownership of the specific path it's registered for (https://www.greenpeace.org/israel/), and that proof can be satisfied entirely from within WordPress, because WordPress fully controls everything served under that path.

This plugin implements everything needed to make URL-prefix verification — and subsequent Google News / Discovery indexing — work end to end, without ever touching the domain root:

  1. Site verification (two methods, both root-free)
  2. A Google News sitemap scoped only to this site
  3. NewsArticle structured data (JSON-LD) on every post

Features

1. Site verification

Option A — HTML tag method

Paste the content="..." value Google gives you when you choose the "HTML tag" verification method. The plugin injects:

<meta name="google-site-verification" content="YOUR_CODE" />

into the <head> of every page on the site. You can add multiple tags at once (e.g. one for Search Console, one for Publisher Center, one for Google Analytics) — they don't conflict.

Option B — HTML file method

Google sometimes asks you to upload a file like google1234567890abcdef.html containing a single line of HTML, served at the exact URL https://www.greenpeace.org/israel/google1234567890abcdef.html.

Since the site owner has no FTP/file access to place a real file there, the plugin lets you paste the filename and its required contents into the admin screen. WordPress then intercepts that exact request and serves the content directly — achieving the same result as uploading a file, with no filesystem access required.

2. Google News sitemap

Available at:

https://www.greenpeace.org/israel/news-sitemap.xml

This sitemap is generated dynamically and:

  • Includes only posts published on this site — never content from other Greenpeace country sites, even though they share the same parent domain
  • Includes only posts published in the last 48 hours, per the Google News sitemap specification
  • Outputs proper <news:news> markup with publication name, language, publication date, and title

Submit this exact URL as the news sitemap in Search Console / Publisher Center.

If the sitemap URL returns a 404, go to Settings → Permalinks in wp-admin and click Save Changes once. This flushes WordPress's rewrite rules so the new /news-sitemap.xml route is registered.

3. NewsArticle structured data

Every single post automatically gets schema.org NewsArticle JSON-LD injected into its <head>, with:

  • headline
  • datePublished / dateModified
  • author
  • publisher (name + logo, taken from the site icon)
  • image (post featured image, if set)

This requires no configuration and works immediately after activation. You can verify it on any post URL using Google's Rich Results Test.

Installation

  1. Copy the greenpeace-publisher-center folder into wp-content/plugins/.
  2. Activate Greenpeace Publisher Center Connector from the Plugins screen in wp-admin.
  3. Go to Settings → Publisher Center to configure it.
  4. Go to Settings → Permalinks and click Save Changes once, so the /news-sitemap.xml rewrite rule is registered.

Configuration

All settings live under Settings → Publisher Center in wp-admin:

Section What to do
Publication details Set the publication name and language code (e.g. he) used in the news sitemap and structured data.
Site verification — HTML tag Paste the verification code Google gives you for the "HTML tag" method, then click Add.
Site verification — HTML file Enter the filename (e.g. google1234567890abcdef.html) and the exact content Google gives you, then click Add.
Google News sitemap Shows the sitemap URL to submit to Search Console / Publisher Center.
Structured data Informational only — works automatically, no setup needed.

Step-by-step: what to do after installing

Follow these steps in order once the plugin is active.

1. Flush permalinks

wp-admin → Settings → Permalinks → click Save Changes (no need to change anything). This registers the /news-sitemap.xml route.

2. Configure publication details

wp-admin → Settings → Publisher Center → set:

  • Publication name (e.g. "Greenpeace Israel")
  • Language code (e.g. he)

3. Verify the news sitemap is live

Open https://www.greenpeace.org/israel/news-sitemap.xml in a browser. You should see XML output (it may be an empty <urlset>...</urlset> if no posts were published in the last 48h — that's fine).

4. Create the Search Console property correctly

In Google Search Console:

  • Click Add property
  • Choose URL prefix (not "Domain")
  • Enter exactly https://www.greenpeace.org/israel/

5. Verify ownership

Pick either method Google offers:

  • HTML tag → copy the content="..." value → paste it into Settings → Publisher Center → "HTML tag" section → Add
  • HTML file → copy the filename and its exact content → paste both into the "HTML file" section → Add

Then go back to Search Console and click Verify.

6. Submit to Publisher Center

Once Search Console shows the property as verified, go to Google Publisher Center, select/add the same greenpeace.org/israel site, and submit https://www.greenpeace.org/israel/news-sitemap.xml as your content feed.

7. Spot-check structured data

Run any single post URL through Google's Rich Results Test and confirm it detects a NewsArticle — this happens automatically, no config needed.

Once verification shows "Verified" in Search Console, the technical blocker is resolved. News/Discovery inclusion after that point is Google's editorial review, which can take time.

Why "Domain" verification doesn't work here

Property type What it requires Available to a subdirectory site owner?
Domain property DNS TXT record at the domain's root ❌ No — requires DNS access to greenpeace.org, which the local team doesn't have
URL prefix property Proof of control over the specific URL path only ✅ Yes — fully satisfied by WordPress itself, which is what this plugin automates

File structure

greenpeace-publisher-center/
├── greenpeace-publisher-center.php   # Plugin bootstrap
├── includes/
│   ├── class-gpc-verification.php    # Meta tag + HTML file verification
│   ├── class-gpc-news-sitemap.php    # Scoped /news-sitemap.xml
│   ├── class-gpc-structured-data.php # NewsArticle JSON-LD
│   └── class-gpc-admin.php           # Settings → Publisher Center screen
└── README.md

Requirements

  • WordPress with pretty permalinks enabled (required for /news-sitemap.xml to work)
  • manage_options capability to access the settings screen

Author

This plugin was created by Elad Aybes for the Greenpeace Israel Planet4 site.