Short answer
An XML sitemap is a file, usually at /sitemap.xml, that lists the pages you want search engines to find. To submit it, open Google Search Console, go to Sitemaps, enter the sitemap's address and press Submit, then add a Sitemap: line to your robots.txt. It helps discovery but does not guarantee indexing, so list only canonical, indexable pages.
What is an XML sitemap?
An XML sitemap is a file, usually at /sitemap.xml, that lists the pages you want search engines to find and index, with an optional last-modified date for each. It helps discovery, especially on new sites, large sites and sites where some pages have few links pointing to them. It does not guarantee that a page is crawled, indexed or ranked, and a small site with clear navigation can be found without one. Most platforms create it for you, so having one is cheap.
What should go in a sitemap, and what should stay out?
| Include | Leave out |
|---|---|
| Canonical, indexable pages that load normally | Pages that redirect or return a 404 or another error |
| Pages you would be glad to see in search results | Pages with a noindex tag, or blocked in robots.txt |
| One consistent version of each address (https, and your chosen www or non-www) | Duplicate, parameter, tracking or staging addresses |
| Real content: products, services, articles, locations | Cart, login, thank-you and internal search pages |
A sitemap is a list of recommendations, so a messy one sends mixed signals. Keep it matched to your canonical tags.
What are the limits, and which fields count?
- Size: one sitemap file may hold up to 50,000 URLs or 50 MB uncompressed. Larger sites split into several files and list them in a sitemap index file.
- lastmod (the last modified date): Google uses it when it is consistently and verifiably accurate. Set it to the date the page's content meaningfully changed, not to today's date on every rebuild. If it is often wrong, it gets ignored.
- priority and changefreq: Google ignores both. Leave them out or leave them alone, and do not spend time tuning them.
How do you submit a sitemap to Google?
- Open the sitemap in your browser, for example
https://www.example.com/sitemap.xml, and confirm it loads as XML. - In Google Search Console, pick your property and open Sitemaps, under Indexing.
- Type the sitemap's address and press Submit. The status should read Success. “Couldn't fetch” or “Has errors” says what to fix.
- Add a line with the full address to your robots.txt, such as
Sitemap: https://www.example.com/sitemap.xml, so Bing and other crawlers find it too.
Submitting is a hint to crawl, not an instruction. Google no longer accepts its old sitemap ping request, so Search Console and robots.txt are the two routes. Bing Webmaster Tools also takes submissions.
How do you create a sitemap?
- WordPress: the core software makes one at
/wp-sitemap.xml, and Yoast SEO and Rank Math make their own, usually at/sitemap_index.xml. Use only one. - Shopify, Wix and Squarespace: they create and update
/sitemap.xmlautomatically. - Next.js and other frameworks: generate it at build time from your list of pages, following your framework's documentation.
- A sitemap XML generator tool: fine for a small static site, but it produces a snapshot that goes stale as you add pages. Prefer a sitemap that updates itself.
How do you keep a sitemap healthy?
The Sitemaps report in Search Console shows the status and the number of discovered pages. The Page indexing report can be filtered to your submitted sitemap, so you see which listed pages are not indexed and why. A large gap is a clue. Typical causes:
- Listed pages that redirect, return errors or carry a noindex tag.
- A sitemap that lists staging,
httpor other-host addresses, often left over from a migration. - A hand-made sitemap that never gained the pages you added later.
- A sitemap blocked by robots.txt or hidden behind a login, so Search Console reports that it could not fetch it.
Arcline reads your sitemap on every scan and flags one that lists redirected, broken or noindex pages, and pages listed there that no internal link points to. Sitemap fixes depend on your platform, so they appear under “Only you can do these” with exact steps. See the list of checks. For the wider routine, see how to get your website indexed by Google.