How to Submit a Sitemap to Google Search Console

An XML sitemap lists the important, canonical URLs on your website. It can help Google discover pages, especially new pages that are not yet well connected by internal links. A sitemap is a discovery hint; it does not guarantee that Google will crawl or index every URL.

Prepare your sitemap

1. Confirm that your sitemap opens publicly in a browser, uses valid XML, and does not require a login.
2. Include the preferred HTTPS URL for each page you want search engines to consider. Do not include redirects, duplicate URL variants, or pages marked noindex.
3. Use accurate lastmod dates only when a page has been meaningfully updated.

Submit it in Search Console

1. Sign in to Google Search Console and select the verified property that matches your site's protocol and hostname.
2. Open Sitemaps from the left-hand menu.
3. Enter the sitemap URL, such as https://example.com/sitemap.xml, and submit it.
4. Return to the Sitemaps report later to review whether Google fetched and processed it. Fix any fetch or parsing errors at the sitemap URL and submit again after the correction.

Keep the sitemap current as important pages are added or changed. Search engines may also discover pages through links. Sitemap submission does not bypass crawl rules, canonical signals, quality evaluation, or indexing decisions.