How to Submit Your Sitemap to Google Search Console
A sitemap is an XML file listing all your website pages. Submitting it to Google Search Console helps Google discover and index your pages faster. Without a submitted sitemap, Google relies entirely on link-following to find your content, which can leave important pages undiscovered for weeks or months.
Step 1: Find Your Sitemap URL
Locate Your Sitemap
Test your sitemap URL by opening a browser and typing your domain followed by the sitemap path:
- Rank Math (WordPress): https://www.yourdomain.com/sitemap_index.xml
- Yoast SEO (WordPress): https://www.yourdomain.com/sitemap_index.xml
- All in One SEO (WordPress): https://www.yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml
- Shopify: https://www.yourstore.com/sitemap.xml
- Wix: https://www.yoursite.com/sitemap.xml
You should see an XML file listing sitemap sections or URLs. If you get a 404 error, the sitemap has not been generated yet – go to your SEO plugin settings and enable the sitemap feature.
Step 2: Enable Sitemap in Rank Math (WordPress)
Verify Rank Math Sitemap Is Active
In WordPress admin, go to Rank Math > Sitemap Settings. Ensure Sitemap Index is toggled on. Check that the correct content types are enabled for the sitemap: Posts, Pages, and any custom post types (products, portfolios etc.).
Click Save Changes. Then visit https://www.yourdomain.com/sitemap_index.xml to confirm the sitemap is accessible.
Step 3: Submit to Google Search Console
Submit the Sitemap
In Google Search Console, select your website property. In the left menu, under Indexing, click Sitemaps.
In the Add a new sitemap field, type the sitemap path. Search Console pre-fills your domain, so you only need to type:
sitemap_index.xml(for Rank Math or Yoast)
Click Submit. The sitemap will appear in the Submitted sitemaps list below.
Verify Submission Status
After submission, check the status column:
- Success – Google fetched the sitemap and found the URLs. Check the Discovered URLs column to see how many pages were found.
- Could not fetch – Google cannot access your sitemap. Verify the URL is correct and publicly accessible (not behind a login).
- Has errors – Sitemap was fetched but contains issues. Click on the sitemap to see specific errors.
Step 4: Request Indexing for Priority Pages
Request Indexing for New or Updated Pages
After submitting the sitemap, you can request faster indexing for individual important pages. In Search Console, click the URL Inspection search bar at the top. Enter the full URL of a page. Click Request Indexing.
Google will crawl the page within hours to a few days. Use this for newly published pages, recently updated service pages, or your homepage after any changes. Do not overuse this – Google limits the number of requests.
One week after submitting the sitemap, go to Pages > Indexing in Search Console. Compare the number of Indexed pages to the total pages in your sitemap. If many pages show as Not Indexed, click on each reason to understand what needs to be fixed.
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