What Is an XML Sitemap, and How Do You Submit It to Google and Bing?

Short answer: an XML sitemap is a file that lists the pages on your website you want search engines to find. You submit it once through Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools, then keep it up to date automatically. It doesn't guarantee rankings, but it helps search engines discover new and updated pages faster and spot problems early.

What is an XML sitemap?

An XML sitemap is a plain file, usually found at an address like yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml. It holds a list of page addresses, and can include extra notes such as when each page was last changed.

Think of it as a table of contents you hand to search engines. They can still find pages by following links, but the sitemap tells them directly, "These are the pages that matter."

It's different from a visual sitemap or a "site map" page for visitors. The XML version is written for machines, not people.

Does every website need one?

Google's Search Central documentation says a sitemap is most useful for sites that are large, new with few links pointing to them, or that add content often. Small sites with good internal links can be found without one.

In practice, a sitemap is cheap to set up and useful for almost any business site. It's especially worth having if you:

• publish blog posts or add products regularly,
• have just launched and few other sites link to you yet, or
• have pages that aren't linked from your main menu.

What should and shouldn't be in it?

A sitemap should only list pages you actually want to appear in search. Include:

• your home page, service or product pages, and important category pages,
• blog posts and guides,
• contact and about pages.

Leave out:

• pages that redirect elsewhere,
• pages that return errors, such as "page not found",
• duplicate versions of the same page,
• private, thank-you, cart or login pages,
• pages you've marked "noindex".

A clean sitemap sends a clear signal. A sitemap full of broken or duplicate addresses makes it harder for search engines to trust the list.

How do you find your sitemap?

Many website systems create a sitemap automatically. Try these common addresses in your browser:

• yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml
• yourdomain.com/sitemap_index.xml

You can also check your robots.txt file at yourdomain.com/robots.txt. It often includes a line starting with "Sitemap:" that points to the right file.

If none of these work, your site may not have a sitemap yet, and it's worth setting one up so it updates whenever you add or remove a page.

How do you submit it to Google and Bing?

You only need to do this once per site.

Google Search Console

1. Verify that you own the site in Google Search Console.
2. Open Sitemaps in the menu.
3. Enter the sitemap address and select Submit.

Bing Webmaster Tools

1. Add and verify your site. Bing lets you import a site you've already verified in Google Search Console.
2. Open Sitemaps.
3. Submit the same sitemap address.

Adding a "Sitemap:" line to your robots.txt file also helps, because many search engines read that file.

How do you check it's working?

After you submit, both tools show a status for the sitemap. Check:

• Status: it should read as successful, not "couldn't fetch".
• Discovered pages: the number should roughly match the pages you expect.
• Indexing reports: look at which pages from the sitemap are indexed and which aren't, and read the reason given.

Review this once a month, and after any big change such as a redesign or moving to a new domain. If pages you care about are listed but not indexed, that points to a content, duplication or technical issue to fix.

What comes next once the foundation is in place?

A clean sitemap is part of the technical base that lets search engines and AI assistants find and understand your site. Once that base is solid, later steps can include structured content built for AI answers and ongoing monitoring, with people approving changes. Those steps rely on the basics being right first.

Want your technical search set-up done right?

We set up the technical search foundations for small and medium businesses worldwide, delivered remotely, including sitemaps, Search Console and Bing set-up, and indexing checks. See our search set-up service.

Prefer to talk it through? Message us on WhatsApp and tell us about your website.