Sitemap Management Guide - SEO Tools SEO Tools | How to Submit and Manage Sitemaps

What is a Sitemap?

A Sitemap is an XML file that tells search engines which pages exist on your website. By submitting a Sitemap, you can:

Help search engines discover and index your pages faster
Provide information about your website structure
Specify the priority and update frequency for each page

SEO Tools & Sitemaps (V2.5.2)

Important: Since V3.0, the SEO Tools desktop app does not provide Google Search Console API—you cannot submit or delete sitemaps inside the app. Search uses Playwright.

What you can do in SEO Tools

Maintain sites and URLs via SEO analysis, crawler, and website management
Generate a valid sitemap.xml and deploy it on your site

Submit to Google

Open Google Search Console in your browser
Select a verified property
Go to Sitemaps and submit https://your-domain/sitemap.xml

Sitemap Format Requirements

Standard Sitemap Format

Your Sitemap should follow the XML Sitemap protocol. Basic format:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<urlset xmlns="http://www.sitemaps.org/schemas/sitemap/0.9">
    <url>
        <loc>https://example.com/page1.html</loc>
        <lastmod>2026-01-18</lastmod>
        <changefreq>weekly</changefreq>
        <priority>0.8</priority>
    </url>
    <url>
        <loc>https://example.com/page2.html</loc>
        <lastmod>2026-01-18</lastmod>
        <changefreq>monthly</changefreq>
        <priority>0.5</priority>
    </url>
</urlset>
                        

Sitemap Index File

If your website has multiple Sitemap files, you can create a Sitemap index file:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<sitemapindex xmlns="http://www.sitemaps.org/schemas/sitemap/0.9">
    <sitemap>
        <loc>https://example.com/sitemap-pages.xml</loc>
        <lastmod>2026-01-18</lastmod>
    </sitemap>
    <sitemap>
        <loc>https://example.com/sitemap-posts.xml</loc>
        <lastmod>2026-01-18</lastmod>
    </sitemap>
</sitemapindex>
                        

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How many Sitemaps should I submit?

A: You can submit one or more Sitemaps depending on your website size. If your website is small (less than 50,000 URLs), one Sitemap is sufficient. For large websites, we recommend using a Sitemap index file.

Q: How long does it take for a Sitemap to be processed after submission?

A: Google typically processes Sitemaps within a few hours to a few days. You can check the status in the Sitemap list.

Q: Can I submit different types of Sitemaps?

A: Yes, you can submit various types of Sitemaps, including:

Standard web page Sitemap (sitemap.xml)
News Sitemap (sitemap-news.xml)
Image Sitemap (sitemap-images.xml)
Video Sitemap (sitemap-video.xml)

Q: What should I do if Sitemap submission fails?

A: Please check the following:

Is the Sitemap URL correct and accessible?
Does the Sitemap format comply with the XML Sitemap protocol?
Is the website verified in Google Search Console?
Do you have administrative permissions for the website?

Best Practices

✅ Keep Sitemaps updated and submit new Sitemaps regularly
✅ Ensure all URLs in the Sitemap are accessible
✅ Use the lastmod tag to mark the last modification time of pages
✅ Set higher priority values for important pages
✅ Regularly check Sitemap status and handle errors promptly
❌ Don't include deleted or 404 pages
❌ Don't submit a single Sitemap with more than 50,000 URLs
❌ Don't include pages blocked in robots.txt