XML Sitemap Best Practices: What to Include, Exclude, and How to Submit to Google

modified time: March 5, 2026
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If you want Google to find and rank your web pages quickly, relying solely on internal links might not be enough. Think of an XML Sitemap as a VIP roadmap you hand directly to search engine bots. It tells them exactly where your most important content lives, when it was last updated, and how to navigate your site efficiently.

However, a common misconception is that every page on your website belongs in the sitemap. In reality, a poorly optimized sitemap filled with junk URLs can waste your “crawl budget” and actually hurt your SEO.

In this guide, we will break down the exact E-E-A-T aligned best practices for your XML sitemap: what goes in, what stays out, and how to properly submit it to Google.

What is an XML Sitemap?

An XML (Extensible Markup Language) sitemap is a text file formatted specifically for search engine crawlers (like Googlebot and Bingbot). Unlike an HTML sitemap designed for human visitors, the XML version lists a website’s essential URLs along with metadata, such as the last modified date (<lastmod>).

Why is it crucial? Google can usually discover pages through standard crawling (following links). But for large websites, brand-new sites with few external links, or sites with complex architectures, an XML sitemap ensures search engines don’t miss your most valuable content.

✅ What to INCLUDE in Your XML Sitemap

Your sitemap should be an exclusive list of your high-quality, indexable pages. If you want a user to land on a page from Google search results, it belongs here.

  • Core Pages: Your homepage, About us, Contact, and main service/product feature pages.
  • High-Quality Blog Posts & Articles: All primary content that provides value and targets specific keywords.
  • Product Pages: For e-commerce sites, include the canonical URLs of your products.
  • Category Pages: Main blog or product category pages that help establish your site’s hierarchy.

Rule of Thumb: Only include URLs that return a 200 OK status code and contain a self-referencing canonical tag.

🚫 What to EXCLUDE from Your XML Sitemap

This is where most websites make critical SEO mistakes. Including the wrong pages confuses Google and wastes crawl budget. Do not include the following in your XML sitemap:

  • Non-Canonical Pages: If you have page A and page B with duplicate content, and A is the canonical version, only put A in the sitemap.
  • Noindex Pages: If you have specifically told search engines not to index a page using a noindex meta tag (like cart pages, internal search results, or admin login pages), keep it out of the sitemap.
  • Utility & Policy Pages: Privacy Policies, Terms of Service, and “Thank You” pages after form submissions usually don’t need to be indexed.
  • Paginated Pages: Usually, you only need to include the root category page (e.g., /blog), not /blog/page/2/, /blog/page/3/.
  • Session IDs and Parameter URLs: URLs that change dynamically based on user filters (e.g., ?color=red&size=large) should be excluded to prevent massive duplicate content issues.
  • Redirected (301) or Broken (404/410) Pages: Your sitemap should only point to final, live destinations. Remove dead links immediately.

How to Submit Your XML Sitemap to Google

Once your sitemap is perfectly curated, you need to hand it over to Google. Here is the exact process:

  1. Locate your sitemap URL: For most WordPress sites using SEO plugins (like Yoast or RankMath), it is usually located at yourdomain.com/sitemap_xml or yourdomain.com/sitemap_index.xml.
  2. Log into Google Search Console (GSC): Select your website property.
  3. Navigate to “Sitemaps”: Look at the left-hand sidebar under the “Indexing” section and click “Sitemaps”.
  4. Enter the URL: Type the end of your sitemap URL into the “Add a new sitemap” field and click Submit.

Google will process the file and show a “Success” status. If you see “Couldn’t fetch,” check your URL for typos or ensure your site isn’t blocking Googlebot via the robots.txt file.

How to Instantly Check Your Sitemap Health

Not sure if your sitemap is configured correctly or accessible to search engines? You don’t need to guess.

You can run a free, instant technical SEO audit using FunSEO. Simply enter your website URL, and our tool will check your sitemap.xml accessibility, along with dozens of other crucial Technical SEO signals, meta tags, and PageSpeed metrics—no login required.

Summary

Treat your XML sitemap like a VIP guest list for Google. Keep it clean, keep it updated with only your best 200 OK indexable pages, and regularly check Google Search Console for any indexing errors. A healthy sitemap equals faster indexing and better visibility.