SEO

XML Sitemap

Quick definition

An XML sitemap is a structured file listing the URLs you want search engines to crawl and index, with metadata like last-modified dates and priority.

XML sitemaps are a discovery aid — they help search engines find pages they might otherwise miss, especially on large or weakly-linked sites.

Why XML Sitemap matters

Submit your sitemap in Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools. Keep it under 50,000 URLs and 50 MB; split into multiple files if needed.

How XML Sitemap works in practice

Only include canonical, indexable, 200-status URLs in your sitemap. Including redirects, 404s, or noindexed URLs wastes crawl budget and confuses signals.

Best practices

  • Only include indexable, canonical URLs.
  • Update last-modified dates when content actually changes.
  • Reference all sitemaps in robots.txt.
  • Use sitemap index files for large sites.

Back to glossary