Do you want to submit a sitemap to Google Search Console but you are not sure where to click? This post shows you the exact steps, what each status in the report means, and what to do if Google says “Couldn’t fetch”. So, let’s start.
What is a sitemap, and do you really need one?
A sitemap is a file that lists the pages you want Google to know about. Think of it as a list you hand to Google: “these are my pages”. Google can also find pages by following links, so a sitemap is optional. Google’s own SEO starter guide says a sitemap helps but is not required, and that links to your site matter more at the start.
Even so, we submit one on every site we run. It costs five minutes, and the Sitemaps report in Search Console shows you whether Google can read your list at all. That alone is useful.
How do you find your sitemap URL in WordPress?
If you use Rank Math or Yoast, your plugin already builds the sitemap for you. You do not need a second plugin.
- Rank Math and Yoast: the address is usually yourdomain.com/sitemap_index.xml
- The default WordPress sitemap (no SEO plugin): yourdomain.com/wp-sitemap.xml
Type that address into your browser. If you see a list of links (or a list of smaller sitemaps like post-sitemap.xml and page-sitemap.xml), you have the right URL. If you see a 404 page, read the mistakes section below first.
How to submit a sitemap to Google Search Console, step by step
Google’s help page for sitemaps gives these steps. We have put them in plain words.
- Make sure you are an owner of the property in Search Console. If you are not, list the sitemap in your robots.txt file instead.
- Open the sitemap address in your browser and check that it loads.
- In Search Console, open URL Inspection, paste the sitemap address, and run the live test. “Page fetch” should say Successful.
- Open Sitemaps in the left menu, paste the part after your domain (for example sitemap_index.xml) into “Add a new sitemap”, and press Submit.
- Click the sitemap row afterwards to see details. If the status is not Success, the details tell you why.
That is all. You only submit the index file. If you use a plugin, it contains all the smaller sitemaps inside it, so do not submit them one by one.
What do the sitemap statuses mean?
| Status | What it means | What you do |
|---|---|---|
| Success | Google fetched and read the file with no errors. | Nothing. |
| Has errors | Google read the file, but some entries failed. The good URLs are still queued. | Open the report and fix the listed errors. |
| Couldn’t fetch | Google could not get the file. | Check that the URL opens and is not blocked, then wait and retry. |
Google says it tries to fetch the sitemap straight away, but crawling the pages inside can take a while. It also says not every URL is guaranteed to be crawled. A submitted sitemap is a hint, not an order.
What did we see on our own sites?
We submitted sitemaps for startupindiatoday.com and therecipeworld.com on the same day. Both first showed “Couldn’t fetch”. That is normal right after submitting, so we did not panic and we did not keep resubmitting. On therecipeworld.com there was a second problem: the sitemap address itself returned a 404 error. The cause was WordPress rewrite rules. We fixed it by re-saving the permalinks (Settings, Permalinks, Save Changes) and clearing the cache. After that the file opened normally.
We also learned something about expectations. The therecipeworld.com sitemap lists about 576 posts, yet only 59 pages were indexed when we looked in Search Console. A sitemap gets Google to look at your pages. It does not get them into the index. That depends on the content, which we cover in our post about [the “Crawled – currently not indexed” status](/crawled-currently-not-indexed-fix/).
What are the common mistakes?
- Submitting a sitemap that returns a 404 error. Open it in your browser first.
- Submitting several smaller sitemaps and the index file. One index file is enough.
- Listing pages you have set to noindex. Your sitemap should only contain pages you want in Google.
- Including http:// addresses when your site uses https://. Google’s sitemap guidance says to list fully qualified canonical URLs.
- Resubmitting every day. Google says successfully read sitemaps are recrawled on its own schedule, so resubmit only after a major change.
- Thinking changefreq and priority matter. Google ignores both. It uses lastmod only when it is consistently accurate.
Where are we less sure?
We cannot tell you how fast Google will crawl your pages after you submit. We have no firm number to give you. We also have not tested whether adding the sitemap line to robots.txt speeds things up compared with the Search Console method. Our opinion: use Search Console, because it is the only method that shows you errors, and treat the robots.txt line as a backup.
FAQ
How long does it take for Google to read my sitemap?
Google says it attempts to fetch the file immediately after you submit it. Reading the file and crawling the pages inside are two different things, and the second can take longer.
Can I submit the same sitemap twice?
You can, but there is no benefit. If a fetch fails, Google retries for a few days and then stops, so in that case fix the problem and submit again. If the status is Success, leave it alone.
Do I need a sitemap for a small site?
Not strictly. Google says a sitemap is optional and can help it find pages. For a WordPress site with an SEO plugin, the sitemap is already there, so submitting it is the easy choice. After that, check which queries your pages appear for, as we explain in our guide to [finding invisible keywords in Google Search Console](/find-invisible-keywords-google-search-console/).
Quick checklist
- Your sitemap URL opens in the browser.
- It lists only pages you want indexed.
- You submitted the index file in the Sitemaps report.
- The status says Success (or you know why not).
- You checked the report again after a few days.
Pair this with the [homepage title and meta description checklist](/homepage-title-meta-description-checklist/) so the pages Google finds also look good in the results.
