Glossary

Sitemap

A sitemap is a file, usually at /sitemap.xml, that lists the pages on your site so Google and Bing know which addresses exist and when each one last changed.

By SupaVisible Editorial

A sitemap is a file that lists the pages on your site, usually at yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml. It tells Google and Bing which addresses exist and when each one last changed. Most site builders and frameworks generate one.

For a new site it matters more than it will later. Google finds pages through links and sitemaps, and a new site has few links pointing at it.

You submit it once in Search Console's Sitemaps report, and in Bing Webmaster Tools. Google's help is clear that a listed page is not guaranteed to be crawled or indexed. Setting it up is covered in how to set up Google Search Console. See also robots.txt.

Quick answers

Does submitting a sitemap get my pages indexed?
It helps Google find them, but it does not guarantee indexing. Google's help says a page listed in a sitemap may not be crawled or indexed, depending on the site and the page.

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