Technical SEO
XML sitemap
An XML sitemap is a file that lists the pages on your site you want search engines to find and index, often with the date each was last updated.
What a good sitemap includes
- Only pages you want indexed: no redirects, errors or noindex pages.
- Accurate last-modified dates, updated when content changes.
- New pages as soon as they're published.
How to use it
Reference it in robots.txt and submit it in Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools. Then check the reports for pages that were submitted but not indexed.
Frequently asked questions
No, but it helps search engines discover pages, especially on new sites or pages with few links.
Up to 50,000 URLs per file. Larger sites use a sitemap index.