How to Create an XML Sitemap and Submit It to Google

TL;DR: An XML sitemap lists the pages you want search engines to find. Include only live, canonical, indexable URLs, keep each file under 50,000 URLs and 50 MB, add the file to robots.txt and submit it in Google Search Console. A sitemap helps discovery but never guarantees indexing or rankings.

Last reviewed: 15 October 2026

To create an XML sitemap and submit it to Google, you need three things: a clean list of URLs, a valid file at your site root, and a submission in Google Search Console. The whole job takes about fifteen minutes on a small site.

This guide explains what a sitemap is, which pages belong in it, the exact limits and rules Google publishes, and how to read the status in Search Console. It is written by Janak Pokharel, an SEO practitioner and co-founder of Limi Creatives, for site owners who want a working file rather than theory.

What is an XML sitemap?

An XML sitemap is a file that lists the URLs of a website so search engines can discover them. It can also include details such as the last modification date. It is a hint to crawlers, not a command, and it does not directly improve rankings.

According to Google’s guide to building a sitemap, Google accepts XML, RSS and Atom feeds, and plain text files with one URL per line. XML is the most versatile because it supports image, video, news and localisation extensions. Sitemaps help most on new sites, large sites and sites where some pages have few internal links.

Which pages should go in your sitemap?

Include only canonical, indexable pages that return a 200 status and that you want people to find in search. Leave out redirects, error pages, noindex pages, duplicates with tracking parameters, pages blocked in robots.txt and thin internal search results.

A clean sitemap is also a diagnostic tool. When the pages you submitted do not get indexed, you know where to look first. A sitemap full of redirects and errors, by contrast, makes problems harder to see.

Page type	Include?	Reason
Home, service and key content pages	Yes	These are the pages you want to rank
Blog posts and guides	Yes	Fresh content benefits from discovery
Redirected URLs	No	List the final destination instead
Pages with noindex	No	The sitemap and the tag contradict each other
Parameter and tracking URLs	No	They create duplicates of the clean URL
404 and error pages	No	They cannot be indexed

What are Google’s sitemap rules and limits?

A single sitemap can contain up to 50,000 URLs and be up to 50 MB uncompressed. URLs must be absolute, the file must be UTF-8 and special characters must be escaped. Google ignores priority and changefreq values and uses lastmod only when it is consistently accurate.

The details, again from Google’s documentation, are worth knowing:

• Size limit. If you exceed 50,000 URLs or 50 MB, split the sitemap and list the parts in a sitemap index file.
• lastmod. Google uses it “only if it is consistently and verifiably accurate”, for example when it matches the real last significant update of the page. A copyright year change does not count.
• priority and changefreq. Google states that it ignores these values, so you can leave them out.
• Location. You can host the file anywhere, but it affects only URLs under its folder unless submitted in Search Console. The site root is recommended.
• Same site. Keep URLs on the same protocol and host as the sitemap.

How do you create an XML sitemap?

Create a sitemap with a CMS plugin if your platform has one, or generate the file from a URL list. Save it as sitemap.xml at the site root, check that it opens in a browser and that every URL is correct, then reference it in robots.txt.

1. Collect your URLs. Export them from your CMS, your crawler or your navigation. Remove redirects, duplicates and anything you do not want indexed.
2. Generate the file. On WordPress, an SEO plugin usually creates and updates it automatically. For a small or static site, paste your list into the free XML sitemap generator, which removes duplicates, escapes special characters and warns about mixed domains.
3. Upload it. Place sitemap.xml at the root of your domain and open it in a browser to confirm it loads.
4. Add it to robots.txt. A line starting with Sitemap followed by the full address lets any crawler find it. The robots.txt generator adds this line for you.
5. Submit it in Search Console. The steps are in the next section.

How do you submit a sitemap to Google Search Console?

Open the Sitemaps report in Google Search Console, paste the sitemap address into the Add a new sitemap box and click Submit. Google fetches it immediately, but crawling the listed URLs can take time and some may never be crawled.

The official steps in Google’s Sitemaps report help are:

1. Make sure you have owner permission on the property. If not, list the sitemap in robots.txt instead.
2. Post the sitemap on your site, ideally at the root.
3. Run a live URL test in the URL Inspection tool and confirm the page fetch is successful.
4. In the Sitemaps report, paste the address and click Submit.
5. If the status is not Success, click the row to see the error details.

Submission is only a hint. Google states there is no guarantee that a URL found in a sitemap will be crawled or indexed.

What do sitemap statuses and indexing messages mean?

In Search Console, Success means Google fetched and processed the sitemap without errors. Has errors means it was fetched but some lines could not be parsed. Couldn’t fetch means Google could not retrieve the file, often because of a block, a 404 or a server problem.

Separate from the sitemap status, the Page indexing report explains what happened to each URL. According to Google’s Page indexing report help, “Crawled – currently not indexed” means Google crawled the page but has not indexed it, and “Discovered – currently not indexed” means Google found the URL but has not crawled it yet. “Page with redirect” means the URL redirects elsewhere, and “Duplicate without user-selected canonical” means Google chose a different page as the main version.

If many submitted URLs are not indexed, the usual causes are thin, duplicate or low-value pages, not a problem with the sitemap file. Improve the pages, link to them from related content and check technical issues with the free SEO audit. The technical SEO guide explains crawling and indexing in more depth.

Conclusion

A good sitemap is short, accurate and boring: only live, canonical, indexable pages, kept under the size limits and listed in robots.txt and Search Console. Keep lastmod honest or leave it out, and use the Page indexing report to see what Google does with your URLs. If you would like a specialist to review your crawling and indexing setup, Limi Creatives can run a free SEO audit. Request one through the contact page, or read more about the technical SEO service.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need an XML sitemap?

Small, well linked sites often do fine without one. A sitemap helps most on new sites, large sites and sites with pages that few other pages link to, and it makes indexing problems easier to diagnose.

Does a sitemap improve rankings?

Not directly. It helps Google discover pages. Rankings depend on content quality, relevance, links and many other signals.

Should I include priority and changefreq?

No. Google states that it ignores both values, so they only add file size.

How often should I update my sitemap?

Update it whenever you add or remove important pages. A CMS plugin or generator that rebuilds the file automatically is the easiest way to keep it accurate.

Why are my submitted URLs not indexed?

Submission is a hint, not a guarantee. Check the Page indexing report for the reason, and look for thin or duplicate pages, canonical conflicts, noindex tags or blocked URLs.