Last updated
Sitemap Submission Steps
- Generate your sitemap using the tool
- Upload sitemap.xml to your website root:
https://example.com/sitemap.xml - Add the Sitemap directive to your robots.txt file
- Submit to Google Search Console: Sitemaps → Add a new sitemap
- Submit to Bing Webmaster Tools: Sitemaps → Submit sitemap
- Regenerate and resubmit when you add significant new content
Common Sitemap Mistakes to Avoid
- Including URLs that return 404 or redirect — only include live, canonical URLs
- Including noindex pages — search engines should not index these
- Setting all priorities to 1.0 — defeats the purpose of priority
- Using incorrect lastmod dates — only update when content actually changes
- Exceeding 50,000 URLs per sitemap file — use a sitemap index instead
- Forgetting to update the sitemap when adding new pages
All sitemap generation happens entirely in your browser. Your URL list and site structure are never transmitted to any server.
Examples
Example 1: Basic XML Sitemap
A simple sitemap for a small website with 5 pages:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<urlset xmlns="http://www.sitemaps.org/schemas/sitemap/0.9">
<url>
<loc>https://example.com/</loc>
<lastmod>2024-03-09</lastmod>
<changefreq>weekly</changefreq>
<priority>1.0</priority>
</url>
<url>
<loc>https://example.com/about</loc>
<lastmod>2024-01-15</lastmod>
<changefreq>monthly</changefreq>
<priority>0.8</priority>
</url>
<url>
<loc>https://example.com/services</loc>
<lastmod>2024-02-20</lastmod>
<changefreq>monthly</changefreq>
<priority>0.8</priority>
</url>
<url>
<loc>https://example.com/blog</loc>
<lastmod>2024-03-09</lastmod>
<changefreq>daily</changefreq>
<priority>0.7</priority>
</url>
<url>
<loc>https://example.com/contact</loc>
<lastmod>2024-01-01</lastmod>
<changefreq>yearly</changefreq>
<priority>0.5</priority>
</url>
</urlset>
Example 2: Priority Guidelines
Priority values and when to use them:
1.0 — Homepage (most important page)
0.9 — Top-level category pages, main landing pages
0.8 — Important content pages (about, services, products)
0.7 — Blog index, news section, secondary landing pages
0.6 — Individual blog posts, news articles
0.5 — Archive pages, tag pages, author pages
0.3 — Deep archive pages, old content
0.1 — Utility pages (privacy policy, terms of service)
Example 3: Change Frequency Guidelines
changefreq values and appropriate use cases:
always — Pages that change with every access (real-time data)
hourly — News sites, live sports scores, stock prices
daily — News blogs, frequently updated content
weekly — Regular blogs, product catalogs
monthly — About pages, service descriptions, documentation
yearly — Legal pages, contact information
never — Archived content, historical pages