How to Submit Your Sitemap to Google (and Bing)
How do I submit a sitemap to Google?
In Google Search Console, open Indexing > Sitemaps, paste your sitemap URL into “Add a new sitemap” and click Submit. Google says it should fetch the file right away.
- •You need owner access to the Search Console property.
- •Also add a Sitemap: line to robots.txt so every crawler can find it.
- •Submitting is a hint: Google still decides which URLs to crawl and index.
- •Google's old ping URL was retired in 2023 and no longer works.
“Submitting” a sitemap doesn’t upload anything. As Google’s help puts it, you’re telling Google where to find the file on your site. There are three ways to do that: the Sitemaps report in Search Console, the Search Console API, and a line in robots.txt. Most sites should use the report and the robots.txt line.
Before You Submit: A Two-Minute Check
- It loads. Open the sitemap URL in a private browser window. You should see XML (or a styled list), not a 404 or a login page.
- Googlebot can fetch it. Google’s help suggests testing the sitemap URL in URL Inspection: run a live test and check that “Page fetch” says Successful.
- It lists the right URLs. Full absolute addresses on your canonical domain, pages that return 200, and no pages with a noindex tag.
- It fits the limits. Up to 50,000 URLs or 50MB uncompressed per file. Larger sites use a sitemap index and submit only the index.
- You have owner access. The Sitemaps report needs owner permission on the property. Without it, use the robots.txt method below.
Method 1: Search Console Sitemaps Report
- Open the right property. Sign in at search.google.com/search-console and pick the property that covers your sitemap’s address. A Domain property covers every subdomain and both http and https; it’s verified with a DNS record. A URL-prefix property covers only addresses that start with that exact prefix.
- Go to Indexing > Sitemaps in the left menu.
- Add the sitemap. Paste the sitemap URL into “Add a new sitemap.” If the box already shows your site address, type just the rest, such as
sitemap.xmlorsitemap_index.xml. - Click Submit. Google’s help says the sitemap should be fetched immediately. Crawling the URLs inside it takes longer, and not every URL will be crawled.
- Check the status. If it isn’t Success, click the row for details.
What the report tells you
Each sitemap row shows when you submitted it, when Google last read it, its status, and Discovered pages: how many page URLs Google parsed from it. The status is one of three:
- Success: the file was read with no errors, and its URLs are queued for crawling.
- Has errors: Google read the file but hit problems. URLs it could parse are still queued. Click the row to see the errors.
- Couldn’t fetch: Google couldn’t get the file at all. See the next section.
Discovered pages is not the number indexed. To see how many of a sitemap’s URLs made it into Google, open the Page indexing report (Indexing > Pages) and filter it by that sitemap. A gap between the two is normal; a very large gap is worth a look.
If the status says “Couldn’t fetch”
Google’s help lists these causes:
- robots.txt blocks the sitemap. Google respects robots.txt when fetching sitemaps. Remove the rule that blocks it.
- The site has a manual action. Sitemaps aren’t read until it’s resolved. Check the Manual actions report.
- The URL is wrong and returns a 404. Open it in your browser.
- A general error, such as the server being unavailable. Some of these are temporary.
- Low crawl demand for the sitemap. Google ties this to the quality of the site’s content.
To see the exact reason, paste the sitemap URL into URL Inspection and run a live test. You want “Crawl allowed?” = Yes and “Page fetch” = Successful. After a failed fetch, Google retries for a few days and then stops, so fix the cause and submit the sitemap again. For errors inside the file, see sitemap errors in Search Console.
Method 2: Add It to robots.txt
Add one line anywhere in your robots.txt file, using the full URL. Google reads it the next time it crawls robots.txt, and so do Bing and other crawlers. You can list as many sitemaps as you need, one per line.
User-agent: * Disallow: Sitemap: https://www.example.com/sitemap.xml Sitemap: https://www.example.com/news-sitemap.xml
This is the method to use when you don’t have owner access in Search Console. Sitemaps found this way don’t appear in the Sitemaps report, though Google can still use them.
Method 3: The Search Console API
If you manage many sites, the Search Console API can submit and list sitemaps in code. It offers the same functions and information as the Sitemaps report.
Don’t Use the Old Ping URL
Many older guides tell you to open google.com/ping?sitemap=… after every update. Google announced on June 26, 2023 that it was retiring this endpoint, and that deprecation is now complete. When we tested it in September 2026, it returned a 404. Keep your lastmod dates accurate instead: Google uses them when they’re consistently correct.
Submit to Bing Too
Bing uses sitemaps for both its search results and the AI answers in Copilot, so this is worth two minutes. In Bing Webmaster Tools (see submitting a sitemap to Bing), open Sitemaps and submit the same URL; Bing says it tries to fetch a sitemap as soon as you submit it. If your site is already in Search Console, Bing’s import option can add the site and its sitemaps for you, and it keeps importing new sitemaps you add in Google later. For instant change alerts to Bing, add IndexNow.
Do You Need to Resubmit?
Usually not. After a successful read, Google rereads the sitemap on its own schedule. Google’s help suggests resubmitting after big changes to the sitemap, or after you fix a fetch error. Removing a sitemap from the report doesn’t make Google forget it or its URLs; to stop crawling of specific URLs, you need robots.txt.
After a site move, submit the new sitemap in the property for the new address. If you changed domains, Search Console’s Change of Address tool tells Google about the move.
Where Popular Platforms Keep the Sitemap
- WordPress:
/wp-sitemap.xml(built in). With Yoast or Rank Math,/sitemap_index.xml. Submit whichever one your site actually serves. - Shopify and Squarespace:
/sitemap.xml, created automatically. - Wix:
/sitemap.xml. If you connect Search Console through Wix’s SEO Setup Checklist, Wix submits the sitemap for you (this needs a Premium plan and a connected domain). - Next.js: an
app/sitemap.tsfile is served at/sitemap.xml. Submit it once; there’s no need to resubmit after each deploy.
Not sure where yours is? The guide to finding a sitemap covers the usual spots.
FAQ
How long does Google take to read a submitted sitemap?
Google’s help says the file should be fetched immediately. Crawling and indexing the pages in it is separate and takes longer; Google’s recrawl guide says crawling can take a few days to a few weeks.
Do I need to submit my sitemap again when I add pages?
No. Google rereads sitemaps it knows about. Keep the file updated automatically, with accurate lastmod dates.
Why does the report show fewer indexed pages than discovered pages?
A sitemap is a hint, not a guarantee. Google crawls and indexes what it decides is worth it. The Page indexing report, filtered by your sitemap, shows the reason for each URL that isn’t indexed.
Should I submit a sitemap index or each sitemap?
Either works. Submitting just the index is simpler. Submitting sitemaps separately lets you track each one in the report, which Google notes can help you see which section has problems.