Beginner’s Guide to Submitting Your Sitemap to Google for Free
When it comes to increasing your website’s visibility and traffic, being listed on search engines like Google is a must. However, many beginners mistakenly believe that they need to pay search engines to have their website listed. The truth is, you can get your website to show up on a Google search for free! The key is to submit a sitemap file that helps Google find and index your website. In this comprehensive guide, we will explain what a sitemap is, why it is important, and how to submit it to Google.
Understanding the Significance of a Sitemap
A sitemap is an XML file that contains all the URLs of your website. Essentially, it acts as a roadmap for search engine crawlers, guiding them to discover and index all the pages on your website. By submitting your sitemap to search engines like Google, you ensure that they can effectively crawl and index your site. It’s like providing search engine bots with a complete index of your website.
Generating a Sitemap for Your Website
The process of generating a sitemap depends on the platform you are using for your website. If you have a WordPress website, you can easily generate a sitemap using popular SEO plugins like Yoast SEO. Follow our step-by-step tutorial for guidance. For other platforms, such as static sites, there are numerous online tools and offline software available for sitemap generation. For the purpose of this guide, we will assume you know how to generate a sitemap.
Submitting Your Sitemap to Google
Once you have generated your sitemap, the next step is to submit it to Google. Follow these simple steps:
Go to Google Search Console and select your website. If you haven’t submitted your site before, follow our tutorial on how to add and verify it.
In your Google Search Console dashboard, on the right-hand side, you will find an option called “Sitemaps”. Click on “More” to see all the submitted sitemaps or to submit a new one.
Click on “Add/Test Sitemap” to submit your sitemap file.
That’s it! Once you hit the submit button, Google will crawl your sitemap file and start crawling and indexing all the links listed in it.
Note: If you are using the old version of Google Search Console, follow these steps:
In your Google Webmaster Tools dashboard, on the right-hand side, you will find an option called “Sitemaps”. Click on “More” to see all the submitted sitemaps or to submit a new one.
Click on “Add/Test Sitemap” to submit your sitemap file.
On the same page, you can keep track of the sitemaps discovered by Google or previously submitted. Depending on the type of sitemap you generated, you can submit it from there. If your site contains a large number of images, consider creating an image sitemap. Similarly, you can create a video sitemap for your website. WordPress websites can use plugins specifically designed to create image sitemaps.
After submitting your sitemap, it may take some time for the index status to update. The index status will show you how many URLs have been submitted via the sitemap and how many links Google has indexed. If you have submitted separate sitemaps for images and videos, you will see the status for those links as well.
Don’t Forget Bing!
While Google is the most popular search engine, it is important not to overlook Bing. Once you have submitted your website’s sitemap to Google, it is strongly recommended to repeat the process with the Bing Webmaster Tool. Check out our complete guide to submitting a sitemap to Bing.
Final Thoughts
Submitting a sitemap is a crucial step in getting your website indexed by search engines. Combined with other SEO optimization techniques, it helps ensure that your content reaches a wider audience. Share this comprehensive guide with anyone who could benefit from it. Have you already submitted a sitemap for your website? What other SEO-related tasks do you perform to expedite the indexing process? Let us know in the comments below!
