Generate a clean XML sitemap with all indexable pages. Remove noindexed, redirected, or low-value URLs.
Include <lastmod> dates only when the content genuinely changed. Updating lastmod without real content changes trains Google to ignore your lastmod signals entirely.
In WordPress with Rank Math: go to Rank Math > Sitemap Settings. It auto-generates at /sitemap_index.xml. In Shopify: sitemap is auto-generated at /sitemap.xml. For custom sites: use a generator like xml-sitemaps.com or build dynamically in your framework.
Your sitemap should only contain canonical, indexable pages returning a 200 status. Audit it by crawling the sitemap URLs with Screaming Frog: Mode > List > paste sitemap URL.
Google limits sitemaps to 50,000 URLs or 50MB. For larger sites, create a sitemap index file pointing to sub-sitemaps (sitemap-posts.xml, sitemap-products.xml, sitemap-pages.xml). Most SEO plugins do this automatically.
In Search Console, go to Sitemaps in the left sidebar. Enter your sitemap URL (e.g., /sitemap_index.xml) and click Submit. Google will confirm receipt and show any errors.
Add this line to the bottom of your robots.txt: "Sitemap: https://yourdomain.com/sitemap_index.xml". This helps all search engines discover your sitemap, not just Google.
Most SEO plugins auto-regenerate sitemaps when you publish or update content. For custom sites, trigger sitemap regeneration in your CMS's publish hook. Ping Google after updates: https://www.google.com/ping?sitemap=YOUR_SITEMAP_URL.
Act as a technical SEO specialist. Audit my XML sitemap and generate an optimized version. MY WEBSITE: - URL: [URL] - CMS: [WordPress/Shopify/Next.js/Custom] - Approximate total pages: [NUMBER] - Current sitemap URL: [SITEMAP URL or "don't have one"] CURRENT SITEMAP ISSUES (if known): [PASTE ANY ERROR MESSAGES FROM SEARCH CONSOLE, OR "need full audit"] GENERATE: 1. A sitemap audit checklist — what to include vs. exclude: - Include: Canonical, indexable pages with 200 status - Exclude: noindex pages, redirects, 404s, paginated pages, parameter URLs, thin content 2. If my site has multiple content types, suggest a sitemap index structure: - sitemap-pages.xml - sitemap-posts.xml - sitemap-products.xml (if e-commerce) - sitemap-images.xml (if image-heavy) 3. Sample XML sitemap code with proper formatting (<lastmod>, <changefreq>, <priority>) 4. Search Console submission checklist 5. How to reference sitemaps in robots.txt 6. Automation recommendations for my CMS to auto-update the sitemap
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