HOW TO GENERATE AND SUBMIT SITEMAP TO GOOGLE SEARCH CONSOLE 2025

 

Here’s an updated 2025 step-by-step guide on how to generate and submit a sitemap to Google Search Console so your site can be indexed more effectively.

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1. Generate Your Sitemap

A. If You Use WordPress

• Yoast SEO Plugin

  • Install and activate Yoast SEO.

  • Go to SEO → Settings → Site features and ensure "XML sitemaps" is enabled.

  • Your sitemap will usually be at:

    https://yourdomain.com/sitemap_index.xml
    

• Rank Math Plugin

  • Install and activate Rank Math.

  • Go to Rank Math → Sitemap Settings and turn it on.

  • Find your sitemap URL (often /sitemap_index.xml).

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B. If You Use Shopify

• Shopify generates it automatically at:

  https://yourstore.com/sitemap.xml
  

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C. If You Use Wix

• Automatically generated at:

  https://yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml
  

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D. If You Use a Custom Site

• Online Generators: XML-Sitemaps.com

  • Enter your website URL → Download sitemap file.

  • Upload it to your site’s root directory via FTP (e.g., https://yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml).

• CMS Tools: Many frameworks like Laravel, Django, and Next.js have sitemap packages (e.g., next-sitemap for Next.js).

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2. Verify Your Website in Google Search Console

1. Go to Google Search Console.

2. Click “Add Property”.

3. Choose:

   • Domain property (recommended — covers all URLs and subdomains), or

   • URL Prefix (covers only that exact URL format).

4. Verify ownership:

   • Domain → Add a TXT record to your DNS settings.

   • URL Prefix → Can verify with HTML file upload, meta tag, or Google Analytics.

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3. Submit Your Sitemap

1. In Google Search Console, select your verified property.

2. From the left menu, click “Sitemaps”.

3. In Add a new sitemap, enter your sitemap URL (e.g., sitemap.xml or sitemap_index.xml).

4. Click Submit.

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4. Check Sitemap Status

• Google will show:

  • Success → Google fetched it.

  • Has errors → Click to view issues (e.g., broken URLs, blocked pages).

• Check Coverage report for indexed pages.

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5. Keep It Updated

• If your CMS generates sitemaps automatically (WordPress, Shopify, Wix), no extra work is needed — updates happen when content changes.

• If you manually upload a sitemap, regenerate and re-upload whenever you add or remove significant content.

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✅ Pro Tips (2025)

• Always use HTTPS in your sitemap if your site is secure.

• Use canonical URLs in your sitemap to avoid duplicate content issues.

• Keep each sitemap under 50,000 URLs (or 50MB uncompressed).
  If larger, create multiple sitemap files and use a sitemap index.

• Submit only important, indexable pages — don’t include noindex, duplicate, or irrelevant pages.

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If you want, I can make you a visual step-by-step flowchart for “Generating & Submitting a Sitemap in 2025” so it’s easier to follow.
Do you want me to create that?