An XML sitemap helps search engines discover important URLs on a website and obtain information about those URLs.
Especially for new, extensive, or frequently updated websites, it can help Google to understand the structure and relevant pages of a website more efficiently.
However, a sitemap is neither a guarantee for indexing nor a tool that can be used to improve rankings. It primarily tells Google which URLs you are providing as relevant for your website.
In this guide, we explain how XML sitemaps work, which URLs belong in them, what a sitemap index is, and how you submit and monitor a sitemap in the Google Search Console.
Briefly explained: An XML sitemap is a machine-readable list of your website's important URLs. It helps search engines discover pages, but does not obligate Google to crawl or index these URLs.
What is an XML sitemap? #
An XML sitemap is a file in a structured format that lists the URLs of a website.
For example, a very simplified sitemap can look like this:
https://example.com/
https://example.com/leistungen/
https://example.com/kontakt/Normal website visitors do not need to use this file. It is primarily intended for search engines and other systems that can process sitemap data.
What does Google need a sitemap for? #
Google discovers websites in different ways. Links between pages play an important role.
A sitemap provides an additional way for Google to discover relevant URLs.
internal and external links
↓
URL discovery
XML sitemap
↓
additional information
about relevant URLsTherefore, a sitemap does not replace a good website structure and meaningful internal linking.
Does every website need an XML sitemap? #
Not necessarily.
A small website whose important pages are easily accessible via normal links can be discovered by Google even without an XML sitemap.
Nevertheless, a sitemap is often useful and is provided automatically by many content management systems.
For example, it can be particularly useful for:
new websites
extensive websites
websites with many subpages
frequently published content
more complex site structures
pages that have only a few external linksSince modern content management systems often manage sitemaps automatically, there is usually little reason not to provide them to Google on a correctly configured website.
A sitemap does not replace internal linking #
A page should not be able to exist simply because its URL is listed in an XML sitemap.
Important content should be reasonably accessible within the website.
For example:
Home
↓
Overview of services
↓
Individual service
Blog
↓
Category
↓
ArticleIf an important page only appears in the sitemap and is otherwise barely integrated within the website, you should review the site structure.
Practical Tip: Consider the XML sitemap as a complement to your website structure—not as a replacement for navigation and internal links.
A sitemap is no guarantee of indexing #
One of the most common misconceptions is:
URL in Sitemap = URL is indexed by Google
That is not true.
A sitemap informs Google about a URL. Google then decides for itself whether and when this URL is crawled and whether it is indexed.
Therefore, if an important page is not indexed despite a correct sitemap, you should investigate the specific URL.
We explain how you proceed under Google is not indexing my website: Check causes.
Which URLs belong in an XML sitemap? #
Basically, a sitemap should contain the URLs that you want to provide to search engines as the preferred, indexable versions of your content.
Typical examples are:
Home page
important service pages
product and category pages
relevant blog articles
guides
other standalone indexable contentThe sitemap should thus convey as clean a picture as possible of the URLs that are actually intended to appear as independent pages in search engines.
Which URLs should normally not be in the sitemap? #
URLs that are intentionally not to be indexed do not normally belong in a sitemap for indexable pages.
Problematic or unnecessary examples include:
noindex URLs
404 pages
redirect URLs
non-canonical duplicates
internal search results
specific technical URLs
password-protected contentWhen you tell Google that a URL is relevant via a sitemap and at the same time make it clear through other signals that it should not be indexed, conflicting signals are created.
Redirect URLs do not belong as target pages in the sitemap #
Assuming an old URL was permanently redirected to a new page:
https://example.com/alte-seite/
↓ 301
https://example.com/neue-seite/Then the new target URL should normally be in the sitemap and not the old redirect URL.
We explain how permanent redirects work at Set up a 301 redirect: Permanently redirect URLs.
Remove 404 URLs from the sitemap #
A URL that permanently no longer exists and with 404 Not Found responds, should no longer be listed as a regular content URL in a sitemap.
Otherwise, on the one hand you are telling Google that this URL is relevant, while on the other hand the server is reporting that the resource does not exist.
We explain how to properly handle such URLs at Find and fix 404 errors.
Canonical and sitemap should match #
If multiple similar URL variants exist, the preferred canonical version should generally be used in the sitemap.
Example:
preferred URL:
https://example.com/produkt/
technical variant:
https://example.com/produkt/?sort=preisIf the first URL represents the canonical version, the technical variant should not be unnecessarily signaled as an independent preferred URL in the sitemap.
Use only complete absolute URLs #
URLs in an XML sitemap are specified in full.
Correct:
Not solely:
/services/
The correct protocol and the correct hostname are also relevant.
HTTPS sitemap for an HTTPS website #
If your website operates entirely over HTTPS and HTTPS represents the preferred version, the URLs in your sitemap should also point to the corresponding HTTPS addresses.
Example:
and not unnecessarily:
http://example.com/
if this HTTP version is redirected to HTTPS anyway.
Where do you find your website's sitemap? #
That depends on the content management system and the SEO solution used.
Possible addresses could look like this, for example:
https://example.com/sitemap.xml
https://example.com/sitemap_index.xml
https://example.com/wp-sitemap.xmlYou should check which address is actually used on your website directly in your system or SEO plugin.
Important: Do not simply copy a sitemap address from another website. Always check which sitemap your own website actually provides.
WordPress can provide its own sitemap #
WordPress has an integrated XML sitemap feature.
Additionally, SEO plugins can provide their own sitemap systems.
Depending on the configuration, a WordPress sitemap or a sitemap generated by the SEO plugin can therefore be used, for example.
You do not have to submit multiple different sitemap systems to Google in parallel just because technically multiple variants might be accessible.
What is a sitemap index? #
For larger or structured websites, URLs are often distributed across multiple individual sitemaps.
A sitemap index does not contain all page URLs directly, but rather links to additional sitemap files.
Simplified:
sitemap_index.xml
├── post-sitemap.xml
├── page-sitemap.xml
├── product-sitemap.xml
└── category-sitemap.xmlGoogle can read the sitemap index and subsequently retrieve the individual sitemaps referenced within it.
For a sitemap index, the index is usually sufficient #
If your system generates a complete sitemap index, you can submit it in the Google Search Console.
You then do not necessarily have to submit each sub-sitemap contained within it individually as well.
Example:
https://example.com/sitemap_index.xml
Google can use this to find the contained sitemap files.
Why are there multiple sitemaps? #
The division can have various practical reasons.
For example, it can separate different content types from one another:
Pages
Posts
Products
Categories
Images
VideosIn addition, technical size limits apply to individual sitemap files. Extensive websites may therefore require multiple sitemaps and a sitemap index.
How large can a sitemap be? #
According to the sitemap protocol, a single sitemap can contain at most 50,000 URLs contained and a maximum of when uncompressed 50 MB to be tall.
If either of these limits is reached, the URLs must be distributed across multiple sitemap files.
A sitemap index can then combine these individual files.
What does lastmod mean? #
A sitemap can optionally include a modification date for a URL via the element <lastmod> specify.
Example:
https://example.com/ratgeber/
August 30, 2026This date should reflect an actual substantial change to the page.
It should not be artificially set to the current date on every sitemap request or for trivial changes.
Don't overestimate changefreq and priority #
The Sitemap protocol also includes elements such as <changefreq> and <priority>.
Google does not use these values as binding directives for crawling.
So you can't replace Google with:
1.0force to rank a page higher or better.
Important: A sitemap is not an SEO priority switch. The inclusion of a URL or a high
priority-Value does not automatically improve your ranking.
Check sitemap before submitting #
Before submitting a sitemap to the Search Console, you should check whether it is publicly accessible.
To do this, open the actual sitemap address in your browser.
Example:
https://example.com/sitemap.xml
or:
https://example.com/sitemap_index.xml
The sitemap must not only be accessible to logged-in administrators.
Pay attention to the HTTP status #
Google should be able to reliably retrieve a working sitemap.
For example, if the sitemap returns a server error or access protection, Google cannot process it normally.
We explain the meaning of important HTTP status codes at HTTP status codes explained: 200, 301, 404, 403, and 500.
Submit a sitemap to Google Search Console #
Open Google Search Console and select the correct property for your website.
Then call the area Sitemaps on.
There you can tell Google the address of your sitemap.
Depending on the displayed property and input field, the domain may already be specified. In that case, enter the corresponding sitemap path.
For example:
sitemap_index.xml
and submit the sitemap.
What does „submit a sitemap“ mean? #
The wording can be misleading.
You do not upload the sitemap to Google as a file from your computer.
Instead, to put it simply, the following happens:
Sitemap is located on your website
↓
you share its address with Google
↓
Google fetches the sitemap
↓
Google processes the information it containsThe sitemap must therefore remain accessible on your website.
What happens after submission? #
Google is trying to retrieve and process the submitted sitemap.
In the sitemap report, you can then see, among other things, whether Google was able to successfully read the sitemap.
However, successful processing still does not mean that all URLs contained within it will be crawled or indexed immediately.
What does the status „Successful“ mean? #
When Google reports a successful status for a sitemap, it means the sitemap was successfully retrieved and processed.
This means:
technically readable sitemap
It does not mean:
All URLs are indexed.
You should strictly distinguish between these two statements.
How do you check the indexing of the sitemap URLs? #
The actual indexing is not solely answered by the successful sitemap status.
In the Search Console, you can use the page indexing report and filter the evaluation by a specific sitemap or submitted URLs.
With this, you can check which of the pages included in the sitemap Google has indexed and which URLs have other statuses.
We discuss the diagnosis of individual important URLs in detail under Google is not indexing my website: Check causes.
What does „Sitemap could not be fetched“ mean? #
If Google cannot retrieve a sitemap, you should first check its accessibility.
Possible causes can include, for example:
incorrect sitemap address
404 error
server error
DNS issue
access protection
robots.txt blocking
temporary technical issueOpen the sitemap yourself and check its actual technical condition.
Google can read the sitemap, but reports errors #
A sitemap can generally be accessible and still contain faulty entries.
Then you should examine the details shown in the sitemaps report.
Possible problems may include, for example, invalid URLs, formatting errors, or other syntactic issues.
If your content management system or SEO plugin generates the sitemap automatically, you should not edit the generated XML file manually directly, but rather look for the cause in the corresponding configuration.
Do not edit the sitemap manually if it is generated automatically #
In WordPress and other content management systems, sitemaps are often generated dynamically.
Manual modification of the output XML file would then either be impossible entirely or would be overwritten during the next automatic generation.
If incorrect URLs appear in the sitemap, you should check instead:
Is the content published?
Should the content be indexed?
What sitemap settings does the SEO plugin use?
Is the URL canonical?
Is the content type allowed for search engines?Why does a specific page not appear in the sitemap? #
There can be various causes if an expected page is missing.
For example:
Page is noindex
Page is not published
Content type is excluded from the sitemap
SEO plugin excludes page
Canonical configuration is unusual
Sitemap has not been updated yet
Caching shows an older versionFirst, check whether the page should even be indexed.
Why is a noindex page still in the sitemap? #
If a page deliberately noindex set, it should normally not appear simultaneously as the desired index URL in the sitemap.
In the event of such a contradiction, you should check the system settings or the SEO plugin.
The goal is a consistent configuration:
URL should be indexed
→ indexable
→ canonical URL
→ sitemap
URL should not be indexed
→ noindex
→ normally not sitemapDoes the sitemap need to be resubmitted after every new page? #
Usually not.
When a sitemap has been successfully submitted and is automatically updated at the same address, Google can crawl it again on a regular basis.
So you don't have to delete and re-add the sitemap from the Search Console after every new blog post.
Practical Tip: On a standard WordPress system with an automatically updated sitemap, it is usually sufficient to submit the correct sitemap or sitemap index cleanly once and then monitor its status.
When can a resubmission make sense? #
If you have made extensive changes to the sitemap or the website structure, you can notify Google about the sitemap again.
For normal ongoing changes, on the other hand, Google can follow its regular crawling schedule.
Remove a sitemap from Search Console #
You can remove a submitted sitemap from the Sitemaps report.
However, this does not mean that Google automatically forgets all the URLs contained within it or removes them from the index.
Google may already know the sitemap itself through other channels.
Attention: Removing a sitemap from the Search Console report is not a tool for removing webpages from Google.
A new sitemap after a relaunch #
After a website relaunch, you should check the sitemap particularly carefully.
It should contain the current preferred URLs of the new website.
Old URLs that now redirect or no longer exist should not unnecessarily remain as current content pages in the new sitemap.
Check in particular:
new URL structure
HTTPS
www / without www
Canonical URLs
old redirect URLs
404 URLs
noindex pages
new important pagesOld sitemap after a relaunch #
During larger migrations, an old sitemap can under certain circumstances be temporarily helpful for diagnostic purposes, for example to make old URLs and their redirects accessible to Google again.
However, this is a special migration case.
For the permanently used current sitemap, you should generally provide the preferred current URLs of the website.
Sitemap and robots.txt #
The address of a sitemap can also be found in the robots.txt-file must be specified.
For example, the principle looks like this:
Sitemap: https://example.com/sitemap.xmlThis allows search engines to discover the sitemap.
This does not necessarily replace the practical benefit of submitting via Search Console, because there you can additionally see whether Google was able to successfully retrieve and process the submitted sitemap.
How the robots.txt works, we will explain below Robots.txt Explained: Controlling Search Engine Crawlers Properly.
Do not confuse a sitemap with robots.txt #
Both files serve completely different tasks.
| XML Sitemap | robots.txt |
|---|---|
| points to relevant URLs | contains crawling rules |
| supports URL discovery | can keep crawlers away from areas |
| no indexing guarantee | not a reliable replacement for noindex |
These two mechanisms should therefore not be played off against each other.
Regularly check sitemap and Search Console #
After successful setup, you do not need to open the sitemaps report daily.
However, occasional checking is useful, especially:
after a relaunch
after major URL changes
after changing the SEO plugin
in case of indexing problems
when new pages are not found
when Google reports a sitemap errorCommon sitemap errors #
Incorrect sitemap address entered
Sitemap returns 404
Sitemap is password-protected
Contains old HTTP URLs
Contains redirect URLs
Contains 404 URLs
Contains noindex pages
Contains non-canonical URLs
View sitemap as a guarantee for indexing
Resubmit sitemap after every new article
Manually edit automatically generated XML file
Delete sitemap from Search Console and expect index removal
View sitemap as a replacement for internal linkingChecklist: Check XML Sitemap and Submit to Google #
Determine sitemap address
↓
Open in browser
↓
Publicly accessible?
↓
Correct HTTPS URLs?
↓
Only desired
indexable URLs?
↓
No 404 URLs?
↓
No redirect URLs?
↓
No unnecessary noindex URLs?
↓
Canonical signals plausible?
↓
Open Search Console
↓
Select correct property
↓
Open Sitemaps
↓
Submit sitemap or
sitemap index
↓
Wait for processing
↓
Check status
↓
Check details in case of errors
↓
Check page indexingSummary #
An XML sitemap is a machine-readable file that allows you to point search engines to important URLs on your website.
It helps Google discover pages, but it neither replaces a meaningful website structure nor good internal linking.
A sitemap should fundamentally contain the preferred indexable URLs of your website. Redirect URLs, 404 pages, intentionally on noindex Indexed pages and non-canonical duplicates typically do not belong in the regular sitemap.
For larger websites, multiple sitemaps can be used and combined via a sitemap index. If such an index is generated automatically, it is usually sufficient to submit it to the Google Search Console.
Submitting doesn't mean you are uploading a file to Google. You are simply telling Google where the sitemap is located on your website. Google will then retrieve it itself.
Even a successful sitemap status does not mean that all contained URLs have been indexed. First, it confirms that Google was able to retrieve and process the sitemap.
A good sitemap does not tell Google, „These are the pages you must index,“ but rather, as clearly as possible: „These are the current, preferred, and indexable URLs of my website.“
