XML Sitemaps Explained: Help Google Find Your Pages

An XML sitemap lists your important pages so search engines can find them faster. Learn how sitemaps work, what to include, and how to build one for free.

An XML sitemap is a simple file that lists the URLs you want search engines to crawl. It is a map you hand to Google so it can discover your pages quickly, especially useful for new sites or pages that are not heavily linked.

What a sitemap does and does not do

A sitemap helps search engines find your pages faster. It does not guarantee indexing, but it removes the excuse of not being able to find the page.

What to include

• Each important, indexable URL.
• A lastmod date so engines know when content changed.
• Optional changefreq and priority hints.

Leave out pages you do not want indexed, such as admin or thank-you pages.

Build your sitemap for free

Use the free XML Sitemap Generator to create a sitemap.xml file. Upload it to your site root, reference it in robots.txt, and submit it in Google Search Console so crawling begins.

Keep it current

Update your sitemap whenever you publish or remove pages. Combined with clean internal linking and schema markup, it gives search engines everything they need.