SEO guides

Create a sitemap of important URLs

An XML sitemap lists URLs you want search engines to know about. It can help discovery but guarantees neither crawling nor indexing. It does not replace a useful internal link structure. Small, well-connected websites can also be discovered without a sitemap.

Last edited: 18 October 2026

What to do

1. Choose public, preferred URLs that should be indexable. Exclude login, error, test and duplicate pages.
2. Generate the sitemap from your CMS or static build. Use absolute addresses and proper XML escaping. Split very large sitemaps according to official limits.
3. Make the file accessible and optionally reference it from robots.txt. An owner can submit it in Google Search Console and inspect indexing reports.

Example

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<urlset xmlns="http://www.sitemaps.org/schemas/sitemap/0.9">
  <url><loc>https://example.com/guide/</loc></url>
</urlset>

Check for yourself

• Are listed URLs public and preferred?
• Does the sitemap open as valid XML?
• Has indexing been reviewed separately in owner tools?

Official guidance →