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Marketing & Sales · Tip

Submitting an XML Sitemap to Google Search Console

How to locate and submit your website sitemap to Google

From the Xiry library · Updated 3 October 2026

This workflow explains how to locate an XML sitemap on a website and register it in Google Search Console. Submitting a sitemap helps search crawlers detect and index new pages and updates quickly. It is an essential initial step for technical SEO on any site.

How it works

  1. Find your sitemap: go to your domain followed by /sitemap.xml (e.g., https://yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml, which may redirect to /sitemap_index.xml).
  2. Log in to Google Search Console (search.google.com/search-console).
  3. In the left navigation menu under 'Indexing', click on 'Sitemaps'.
  4. Under 'Add a new sitemap', paste or enter your sitemap URL (e.g., sitemap_index.xml or sitemap.xml).
  5. Click 'SUBMIT'.

What it's for

  • Alert Google immediately to newly published articles and pages
  • Submit a newly launched website to Google Search Console for crawling
  • Verify that Google successfully reads and indexes your site structure

Key points

  • Locate your sitemap at yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml or sitemap_index.xml
  • Log in to Google Search Console and select your domain property
  • Navigate to Indexing > Sitemaps in the sidebar menu
  • Enter the sitemap path in the 'Add a new sitemap' field
  • Click Submit to process the sitemap

Pricing

Free to use via Google Search Console

Details

Type
Tip
Category
Marketing & Sales
Topic
SEO
Open source
No
Platforms
Web
For
Website owners, bloggers, and SEO practitioners
Alternative to
Bing Webmaster Tools Sitemap Submission
Tags
seo, google search console, sitemaps, indexing, webmaster

Why it was saved

  • @heytony.agency, 1 July 2023: Ensures Google is alerted immediately to all current and newly published pages and articles on your site for indexing.

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