Having a sitemap is like handing Google a map to your website. If you want your web pages to be discovered faster and ranked better, submitting your sitemap is a must. In this guide, we’ll walk you through everything you need to know about how to submit sitemap to Google quickly and efficiently.
Why Submitting a Sitemap is Important
Before learning how to submit a sitemap, it’s crucial to understand why it matters. A sitemap informs search engines about the pages on your website that are available for crawling. Without one, search engines might miss important sections of your site—especially if it’s large or newly built.
What is a Sitemap in SEO?
A sitemap is an XML file that lists URLs of your site. This file acts as a roadmap for search engine bots, ensuring they discover and index your pages properly. Submitting a sitemap can help improve your site’s visibility and crawl efficiency.
Step-by-Step Guide to Submit Sitemap to Google
Let’s break down how to submit sitemap to Google using Google Search Console.
1. Create a Sitemap File
Before you can submit sitemap, you need to create one. There are several tools like:
- Yoast SEO (for WordPress)
- Screaming Frog
- XML-Sitemaps.com
These tools generate an XML file typically named sitemap.xml.
2. Upload Your Sitemap to Your Website Root
Place the sitemap at the root directory of your website:
arduinoCopyEdithttps://yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml
This makes it easy for search engines to access and verify the file.
3. Verify Your Website in Google Search Console
To submit sitemap, you must first verify ownership of your site:
- Go to Google Search Console
- Add your domain property
- Follow the verification instructions (HTML tag, file upload, DNS record, etc.)
4. Submit Sitemap via Google Search Console
Once your site is verified:
- Navigate to the Search Console dashboard
- Select your site
- Click “Sitemaps” from the menu
- Enter the URL:
sitemap.xml - Click Submit
Your sitemap status will show as Success or Pending.
5. Monitor Sitemap Status
After you submit sitemap, it’s important to monitor its status:
- Check for crawl errors
- View indexed URLs
- Update and resubmit when you add new content
Best Practices After You Submit Sitemap
- Keep your sitemap updated regularly
- Limit each sitemap file to 50,000 URLs
- Submit separate sitemaps for different content types (e.g., blog, videos)
- Use canonical URLs to avoid duplicate indexing
Troubleshooting Sitemap Submission Issues
Here are common issues and how to fix them:
- Error 404: Ensure the file exists at the URL you submitted
- Blocked by robots.txt: Allow access to your sitemap
- Invalid format: Use proper XML syntax
Tools to Help Submit Sitemap Efficiently
- Rank Math
- All in One SEO Pack
- Google XML Sitemaps Plugin
These tools help automate the process and notify Google of any changes.
Final Thoughts on How to Submit Sitemap to Google
Learning how to submit sitemap to Google is one of the first SEO tasks you should tackle after launching a site. A well-maintained sitemap ensures search engines can crawl and index your site efficiently, boosting visibility and traffic.