How to Submit a Sitemap in Google Search Console

By Emily Redmond, Data Analyst at Emilytics · April 2026

TL;DR: Check if your sitemap exists at yoursite.com/sitemap.xml. If it does, paste that URL in GSC's Sitemaps section and click Submit. Done. If it doesn't exist, generate one using a free tool or a plugin.

A sitemap is a roadmap of your site's URLs in XML format. Google uses it to find and crawl your pages faster. Submitting it to GSC is like saying, "Hey Google, here's a map of everywhere people can go on my site."

Most modern sites auto-generate sitemaps, but you need to tell Google about it.

Check If You Already Have a Sitemap

First, test if your sitemap already exists.

Type this into your browser's address bar:

yoursite.com/sitemap.xml

Replace yoursite.com with your actual domain. If you see XML code (tons of <loc> tags with URLs), you already have a sitemap. Go straight to submitting it.

If you get a 404 (page not found), you'll need to generate one.

Step 1: Log In to Google Search Console

Go to search.google.com/search-console and select your property.

Step 2: Go to the Sitemaps Section

In the left menu, click Sitemaps (usually under "Index").

Step 3: Paste Your Sitemap URL

In the box labeled "Add a new sitemap," paste your sitemap URL:

• For most sites: yoursite.com/sitemap.xml
• For larger sites: yoursite.com/sitemap_index.xml
• For WooCommerce/custom builds: might be yoursite.com/sitemap.xml with a number suffix like sitemap-1.xml

Click Submit.

Step 4: Check the Status

GSC will tell you if your sitemap is valid:

• Success: Shows green checkmark + "Submitted" status. Google found your URLs and is crawling them.
• Error: Red or yellow warning. Common issues: wrong URL, XML formatting error, or too many URLs.

That's it. Google now has a map of your site.

💡 Emily's take: Submitting a sitemap isn't magic—Google finds your URLs anyway, usually within days. But sitemaps speed up discovery and help with crawl budget on large sites. Especially useful for new sites or sites with poor internal linking. Takes 30 seconds and costs nothing.

If You Don't Have a Sitemap

Option 1: WordPress Sites

Most WordPress sites auto-generate sitemaps. If yours doesn't:

1. Install the Yoast SEO plugin (free version is fine)
2. Go to SEO → Site maps
3. Enable XML sitemaps
4. Your sitemap will be at yoursite.com/sitemap_index.xml

Option 2: Shopify Sites

Shopify auto-generates sitemaps. Yours should be at:

• yoursite.com/sitemap.xml

Option 3: Other CMS (Wix, Squarespace, etc.)

Most major platforms auto-generate sitemaps. Check your CMS settings or contact support.

Option 4: Custom or Static Sites

Use a free tool to generate a sitemap:

1. Go to XML-Sitemaps.com
2. Paste your domain
3. Click "Start"
4. Download the sitemap.xml file
5. Upload it to your site's root directory (usually public_html/ or www/)
6. Test it at yoursite.com/sitemap.xml
7. Submit to GSC

Troubleshooting Sitemap Errors

Error: "Couldn't find a valid sitemap"

• Double-check the URL spelling
• Make sure the sitemap is publicly accessible (not password-protected)
• Test the URL in your browser

Error: "URL not in domain"

• You pasted a URL from a different domain
• Make sure your sitemap URL matches your property domain

Warning: "x URLs couldn't be crawled"

• Normal. Some URLs might be 404s, redirects, or require login. GSC will skip them.

Sitemap has too many URLs

• Google limits sitemaps to 50,000 URLs per file. If you have more, create a sitemap index file that points to multiple sitemaps. Most platforms handle this automatically.

Do You Need to Resubmit After Updates?

No. GSC checks your sitemap automatically and daily. If you add 10 new blog posts, Google will discover them through the sitemap without you doing anything else.

You only need to submit once. After that, GSC monitors it.

Should You Submit Every Individual URL?

No. Submit the sitemap and you're done. Submitting individual URLs (via the "Inspect URL" tool) is optional and useful only if you want to request immediate crawling of a specific page (like after a major update).

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What's the difference between sitemap.xml and sitemap_index.xml? A: sitemap.xml is a single sitemap file with up to 50,000 URLs. sitemap_index.xml is an index that points to multiple sitemap files when you have more than 50,000 URLs. Most sites just use sitemap.xml.

Q: How long until GSC shows URLs from the sitemap? A: Usually within a few hours to a few days. Very new sites might take up to a week.

Q: Can I submit multiple sitemaps? A: Yes. Submit each one separately in the Sitemaps section.

Q: What if I delete a page—do I remove it from the sitemap? A: Your sitemap should reflect your actual site. If you delete a page, remove it from the sitemap (most platforms do this automatically). But don't delete hundreds at once—redirect old URLs to relevant new ones instead.

Next Steps

After submitting your sitemap, check your Coverage report to see how many URLs Google found and whether there are any indexing errors.

Emily Redmond is a data analyst at Emilytics — the AI analytics agent that watches your GA4, Search Console, and Bing data around the clock. 8 years of experience. Say hi →