Help/Get found/Google Search Console and your sitemap
Google Search Console and your sitemap
Your site has a sitemap at /sitemap.xml: a list of your live pages, products, articles and their categories for Google. It updates itself. Google Search Console is Google's free tool for seeing how your site does in search, and it's where you hand Google your sitemap.
2 minutesOwners and ManagersWorks on a phone
Make sure your site is live
The sitemap stays empty until your site is launched (Settings, then Domain, Launch site) and while Hide the whole site from Google is on in Settings, then Search engines.
Copy your sitemap address
Go to Settings, then Search engines. Under Your sitemap, tap Copy the address. On a phone, Settings is under More.
Add your site in Search Console
Sign in to Google Search Console and add your site using the URL prefix option, with your site's full address.
Choose the HTML tag method
Google offers a few ways to prove the site is yours. Pick HTML tag and copy the code from the tag it shows you.
Paste it into o/i
Back in Settings, then Search engines, paste it into Search Console code. The whole tag line, a google-site-verification= line or only the code all work. It saves as you type.
Verify in Search Console
Return to Search Console and tap Verify.
Submit your sitemap
In Search Console, open Sitemaps, paste your sitemap address and submit it. You only need to do this once.
Good to know
- Prefer not to do it yourself? Ask us and we'll set it up.
- Pages, products and articles set to Hide from search engines are left out of the sitemap.
- Once your own domain is connected and working, the sitemap uses it.
- o/i doesn't add DNS records for Search Console. If you choose Google's Domain option instead, you add its record where your domain's DNS is managed.
- Extra lines for robots.txt, under Advanced, is for Allow: and Disallow: lines if you need them.
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