An XML sitemap is a list of the URLs you want search engines to know about. Submitting it to Google Search Console does not guarantee indexing, but it helps Google discover new and updated pages faster and gives you a report of how many of those URLs are actually indexed. For a new website, it is one of the first things we set up.
This article is part of our complete guide: Why Is My Website Not on Google? The Complete Indexing Guide.
Step 1: Find your sitemap URL
Most platforms generate a sitemap automatically. The usual locations are:
- WordPress with Rank Math:
/sitemap_index.xml - WordPress with Yoast:
/sitemap_index.xml - WordPress without an SEO plugin:
/wp-sitemap.xml - Wix:
/sitemap.xml - Squarespace:
/sitemap.xml - Shopify:
/sitemap.xml
Open the URL in your browser. You should see a structured list of links, often grouped into child sitemaps for pages, posts, products and categories. If you see your normal homepage or a 404, the sitemap is not enabled or is at a different address.
Step 2: Verify your site in Search Console
If you have not already, add your website as a property in Google Search Console. A Domain property (verified through a DNS TXT record) covers http, https, www and all subdomains in one place and is the best option. A URL-prefix property also works if you cannot edit DNS.
Step 3: Submit the sitemap
- In Search Console, open Indexing › Sitemaps.
- Under “Add a new sitemap”, enter the sitemap path, for example
sitemap_index.xml. - Click Submit.
- Refresh the page after a few minutes. The status should show “Success” with the number of discovered URLs.
For a sitemap index, you only need to submit the index file. Google reads the child sitemaps from it.
Step 4: Add the sitemap to robots.txt
Add a line such as Sitemap: https://yourdomain.com/sitemap_index.xml to your robots.txt. This helps Bing and other search engines find it too. Our guide to robots.txt shows a safe default file.
What a good sitemap contains
- Only canonical URLs that return a 200 status.
- No redirected, noindexed or blocked URLs.
- No thin archive, attachment or internal search pages.
- Accurate
lastmoddates that change when content really changes. - Fewer than 50,000 URLs and under 50 MB per file (split into an index if larger).
A clean sitemap is a quality signal. If half the URLs in it are redirects or noindexed pages, Google learns not to trust it. We cover this in detail in Discovered – currently not indexed.
Do you also need an HTML sitemap?
An HTML sitemap is a normal web page that lists links to your main pages for visitors. It is not required for Google, and it does not replace the XML sitemap. On small sites with clear navigation it adds little. On larger sites, a well-organised HTML sitemap or a set of hub pages can help both visitors and crawlers reach deep pages, because those links pass internal link value, which an XML sitemap does not. For most small businesses, strong menus, footer links and contextual links inside articles do the same job better.
Image and video sitemaps
If images are central to your business, for example for photographers, designers or ecommerce stores, make sure your images are included. Rank Math and Yoast add images to the standard sitemaps automatically, and Wix, Squarespace and Shopify do the same. Separate video sitemaps are only worth setting up if you host videos yourself and want them to appear in video results.
Fixing common sitemap errors
“Couldn’t fetch”
This is the most common error. Sometimes it simply means Google has not processed the sitemap yet; wait a day and refresh. If it persists, check that the sitemap URL loads in an incognito window, returns a 200 status, and is not blocked by robots.txt, a firewall, a security plugin or a CDN rule that blocks bots. Caching plugins occasionally serve a broken cached version; purge the cache and resubmit.
“Sitemap is HTML”
Google received a web page instead of XML. Usually the sitemap feature is disabled, so the URL falls back to the homepage or a 404 page. Enable sitemaps in your SEO plugin, save permalinks in WordPress (Settings › Permalinks › Save) to refresh rewrite rules, and try again.
“URL not allowed” or wrong domain
The sitemap lists URLs on a different host than the property, for example http instead of https or www instead of non-www. Correct the site address in your CMS settings and regenerate.
“General HTTP error” or timeouts
Large sitemaps on slow hosting can time out. Reduce the URLs per sitemap in your SEO plugin settings, improve server performance, and exclude low-value post types.
Sitemap submitted but pages still not indexed
A sitemap is a suggestion. If pages remain unindexed, the issue is crawl priority, quality or technical blockers. See Crawled – currently not indexed and website not showing on Google.
Platform tips
WordPress
In Rank Math, go to Sitemap Settings and include only the post types and taxonomies that deserve indexing. Exclude tags if they are thin. Make sure custom post types such as portfolio or case studies are included, as we did for the case studies on this site.
Wix
Wix updates the sitemap automatically when you publish. Pages set to “hidden from search engines” are left out. If you connected your domain recently, resubmit the sitemap on the final domain. Our Wix SEO checklist covers this.
Squarespace
The sitemap updates automatically. Disabled pages and pages hidden from search are excluded. Password protection on the site will block Google from fetching it.
Shopify
Shopify includes products, collections, pages and blog posts. The store must not be password protected. For multi-language stores, each language has its own sitemap entries.
How to use the sitemap report afterwards
Click the submitted sitemap and choose “See page indexing”. This filters the Page indexing report to only the URLs in that sitemap, which is the most useful view in Search Console: it tells you how many of the pages you care about are indexed, and why the rest are not. We check this view monthly for every client site.
Example
For new and rebuilt websites, such as Sip & Scoop and Heather Elizabeth Photography, submitting a clean sitemap on launch day and checking the indexing view a week later helps catch problems before they cost traffic.
Related guides and services
- Discovered – currently not indexed: why Google postpones crawling and how to speed it up.
- Blocked by robots.txt: how to read and repair a robots.txt file safely.
- Excluded by noindex tag: how to find and remove an accidental noindex.
- Wix SEO checklist: every Wix setting that affects rankings, in order.
- Google indexing fix service: we diagnose and fix pages Google will not index.
Get expert help
If you would rather spend your time running your business, MIVAQ can handle this for you. We audit the site, fix the root causes, document every change and show you the before-and-after in Search Console, so you know exactly what improved and why. Start with our Google indexing fix service, browse real client results in our case studies, or contact us for a free, no-pressure review of your website.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to resubmit my sitemap after every new post?
No. Google rechecks submitted sitemaps regularly. Resubmit only after major changes, such as a migration.
Does a sitemap improve rankings?
Not directly. It helps discovery and gives you better reporting, which helps you fix indexing problems.
Should I submit several sitemaps?
Submit the sitemap index. Separate submission of child sitemaps is optional but can make reporting clearer.
Can I submit a sitemap to Bing?
Yes, in Bing Webmaster Tools, which can also import your Search Console properties.
