XML Sitemaps Explained: What They Are, Why They Matter, and How to Set One Up

When Google crawls the web, it follows links from page to page.

Your homepage links to your services page. Your services page links to individual service pages. And so on.

But what if some of your pages aren't linked from anywhere? Google might never find them.

A sitemap solves that. It's a direct map handed to Google saying: 'Here are all the pages I want you to know about.'

What Is an XML Sitemap? (And What It's Not)

An XML sitemap is a plain text file in XML format, stored at the root of your website.

It looks like this when opened in a browser:

What a sitemap URL looks like: https://khalismarketing.com.au/sitemap.xml

Inside the file: a list of URLs with optional metadata (last modified date). Each URL tells Google that page exists and should be considered for indexing.

Example entry: <url><loc>https://khalismarketing.com.au/services/local-seo</loc><lastmod>2026-04-15</lastmod></url>

What a sitemap is NOT:

• A guarantee that Google will index listed pages; it's a hint, not a command
• A ranking factor: having a sitemap doesn't directly improve rankings
• A substitute for internal links: pages need both to rank reliably

Think of it as a table of contents you hand to a librarian. They still decide what to shelve. But they can't shelve what they never find.

Why XML Sitemaps Matter for SEO

Sitemaps primarily help with two things:

• Discovery: For new pages with no internal links pointing to them yet, a sitemap is how Google first learns they exist.
• Crawl efficiency: On large sites with hundreds of pages, a sitemap helps Google prioritise which pages to crawl. Without one, it may spend crawl budget on low-priority pages and miss important ones.

The impact is greatest in three situations:

• New websites where very few external sites link to you yet
• Large ecommerce stores where new products are added regularly
• Sites where important pages aren't well-linked from the main navigation

Sitemaps are one component of a broader technical setup. See what technical SEO covers for the full picture.

XML Sitemap vs HTML Sitemap: What's the Difference?

Ideally you have both. The XML sitemap handles crawler discovery. The HTML sitemap serves as a user navigation tool and creates additional internal links to key pages.

How to Find Out If Your Site Already Has a Sitemap

Check three places:

• Try the standard URL directly: Type yourdomain.com.au/sitemap.xml in your browser. If a list of URLs appears, you have a sitemap. If you get a 404 error, you don't.
• Check your robots.txt file: Visit yourdomain.com.au/robots.txt. Many CMS platforms automatically add a sitemap line here. Look for: Sitemap: https://yourdomain.com.au/sitemap.xml
• Check Google Search Console: Go to Search Console > Indexing > Sitemaps. If a sitemap has been submitted, it appears here with a status and URL count.

How to Create an XML Sitemap (By Platform)

WordPress

Install Yoast SEO or Rank Math (free versions). Both generate sitemaps automatically.

In Yoast: SEO > General > Features > XML sitemaps. Toggle on. Your sitemap is at yourdomain.com/sitemap_index.xml.

In Rank Math: Rank Math > Sitemap Settings. Enable. Your sitemap is at yourdomain.com/sitemap_index.xml.

By default these include: posts, pages, and optionally categories, tags, and custom post types. Disable sitemaps for taxonomy archives (categories, tags) if those pages are set to noindex.

More WordPress-specific setup: WordPress SEO.

Shopify

Shopify generates your sitemap automatically at yourdomain.com.au/sitemap.xml.

It includes: pages, products, collections, and blog posts.

You cannot directly edit the Shopify sitemap. However, any page set to noindex will not appear in it. Use this to exclude pages you don't want Google to index.

Squarespace

Squarespace generates a sitemap automatically at yourdomain.com.au/sitemap.xml.

Individual pages can be excluded from the sitemap by going to the page settings, clicking SEO, and disabling 'Index this page.'

Wix

Wix auto-generates sitemaps and submits them to Google automatically when you connect Search Console through the Wix SEO Wiz. If you prefer manual submission, find your sitemap at yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml.

Custom or No CMS

Generate a sitemap using Screaming Frog (crawl your site > Sitemaps > Create XML Sitemap). Or use a free online generator at w3era.com/xml-sitemap-generator.

Upload the generated file to your root directory as sitemap.xml. The file must be accessible at yourdomain.com.au/sitemap.xml.

How to Submit Your Sitemap to Google Search Console

1. 1Go to search.google.com/search-console
2. 2Select your property (your website)
3. 3In the left menu, click Indexing > Sitemaps
4. 4In the 'Add a new sitemap' field, enter your sitemap URL
5. 5Click Submit
6. 6Google will process the sitemap within a few hours. The status changes from 'Pending' to 'Success' when complete
7. 7Check the discovered URLs count; it should reflect roughly how many indexable pages your site has

If the status shows 'Has errors,' click on the error to see which specific URLs are causing issues. Common errors: URLs returning 404, URLs blocked by robots.txt, or malformed XML.

Common XML Sitemap Mistakes and How to Fix Them

• Including 404 pages: If any URL in your sitemap returns a 404 error, Google sees it as a discrepancy. Run a crawl with Screaming Frog and remove all 4xx URLs from your sitemap.
• Including noindex pages: A page set to noindex but also listed in the sitemap sends mixed signals. Remove noindex pages from the sitemap, or remove the noindex tag; choose one.
• Including redirected URLs: 17% of websites have sitemaps containing redirect URLs (SE Ranking, 2025). Only include final destination URLs, not URLs that redirect to other pages.
• Fake lastmod dates: Some plugins update the lastmod date on every page whenever any content changes. This tricks Google into re-crawling pages that didn't change and wastes crawl budget. Set lastmod only when the page's content actually changed.
• Not updating after adding new content: Most CMS platforms update the sitemap automatically. If yours doesn't, manually regenerate and resubmit it whenever you add significant new pages.
• Sitemap not listed in robots.txt: 23% of websites don't link to their sitemap in robots.txt (SE Ranking, 2025). Add this line to your robots.txt file: Sitemap: https://yourdomain.com.au/sitemap.xml

How Often Should Your Sitemap Be Updated?

For most WordPress and Shopify sites, your sitemap updates automatically whenever you publish new content. You don't need to manually resubmit it unless you've made structural changes (added a new section, changed URL formats, migrated to a new domain).

Situations that warrant manual resubmission:

• After a site migration or domain change
• After adding a major new section (new service category, new blog section)
• After significant URL changes or restructuring
• If Search Console shows indexing errors you've resolved

Sitemap is just one piece of technical SEO. Our technical SEO services audit and fix everything holding your site back from Google.

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Sitemap set up but still not ranking? A sitemap is just one piece of technical SEO. Our technical SEO service audits and fixes everything that's holding your site back from Google.

About the Author: Bhavleen Singh is the founder of Khalis Marketing. 10 years of SEO experience, Moz Technical SEO Certification, Master of Marketing from Victoria University.