Google Search Console Sitemap Guide

What is a Sitemap in Google Search Console?

A sitemap is a file that lists all the important pages of your website that you want search engines like Google to crawl and index. In Google Search Console (GSC), the sitemap feature allows you to submit and monitor your sitemaps.

How to Submit a Sitemap to Google Search Console

1. Sign in to Google Search Console (https://search.google.com/search-console)

2. Select your property (website)

3. Navigate to Sitemaps in the left sidebar

4. Enter your sitemap URL in the field (e.g., sitemap.xml or sitemap_index.xml)

5. Click Submit

Common Sitemap Formats

• XML Sitemap (most common)

• RSS/Atom feeds

• Text files with URLs

• Sitemap index files (for large sites)

Best Practices

• Keep your sitemap updated with new content

• Include only canonical URLs

• Limit to 50,000 URLs per sitemap (use multiple sitemaps if needed)

• Compress large sitemaps with gzip (.xml.gz)

• Place your sitemap in the root directory

• Submit both http and https versions if applicable

Troubleshooting Common Sitemap Issues

• Couldn’t fetch – Check if the sitemap URL is correct and accessible

• URLs not indexed – Sitemap submission doesn’t guarantee indexing

• Sitemap contains errors – Validate your sitemap format

• Submitted URLs marked “Excluded” – Check for noindex tags or other blocking issues

Monitoring Your Sitemap

After submission, Google Search Console will show:

• When the sitemap was last read

• Number of submitted URLs

• Any processing errors

Would you like more specific information about any of these aspects of Google Search Console sitemaps?