Definition

An XML sitemap is a machine-readable file listing URLs you want search engines to discover and crawl — submitted via Search Console and referenced in robots.txt.

Detailed Explanation

Standard sitemap includes <loc> and optional <lastmod>, <changefreq>, and <priority>. Google uses <lastmod> when it is accurate and ignores <changefreq> and <priority>. Max 50,000 URLs or 50MB per file; use sitemap index for larger sites.

Specialized types: Image sitemap, Video sitemap, News sitemap. Only include indexable 200 OK URLs — not redirects, 404s, or noindexed pages.

Nepal Context

After large blog publishes (100+ posts), regenerate sitemap and prune category/pagination URLs that waste crawl budget. Submit updated sitemap in Google Search Console after major content waves.

Practical Examples

  • A WordPress site uses its SEO plugin to generate /sitemap_index.xml, split into posts, pages, and products.
  • A static site regenerates its sitemap at each build and leaves out redirect stubs and noindexed pages.
  • A news site adds a separate news sitemap for articles published in the last two days.

How to Check It

  1. In Search Console, open Sitemaps and confirm the status is “Success” and the discovered URL count looks right.
  2. Open the sitemap in a browser and spot-check a few URLs: each should return 200 and be the canonical version.
  3. Make sure robots.txt includes a Sitemap: line pointing to it.

Key Takeaways

  • Sitemap helps discovery; does not guarantee indexing
  • Keep clean — quality over quantity
  • Reference in robots.txt: Sitemap: https://yoursite.com/sitemap.xml

Common Mistakes

  1. Including noindexed or redirected URLs
  2. Never updating lastmod after content refreshes
  3. Submitting sitemaps with 10,000+ thin auto-generated pages