Submit a sitemap in Search Console
Submitting a sitemap tells Google where your website’s sitemap lives. You provide its public address rather than uploading every page into Google. The file must already work on your website, and you need the appropriate verified property and owner permission to submit through the report.
Before you start
- Obtain the sitemap address generated by your website or platform.
- Confirm owner access to the Search Console property covering that address.
What to do
Check the file before submitting it
Open the public sitemap in your browser and sample important URLs. Confirm they use the live domain and lead to intended public pages. Fix a preview-domain list or missing file first; sending Google the address does not repair the content behind it.
Choose the correct property
In Search Console, confirm the selected property covers the sitemap’s location. This matters particularly with URL-prefix properties and different hostnames. Keep a note of the property and sitemap together so another administrator can later understand which submission belongs to which website.
Use the Sitemaps report
Open Sitemaps, enter the sitemap address as requested by that property’s interface, and submit it. Read the returned status and any error details. If the file cannot be fetched, investigate access or configuration rather than submitting many guesses at alternative file names.
Review what success actually means
A successful status means Google processed the sitemap, not that every listed page is indexed. Check important pages separately using the indexing reports. Keep old submissions until you understand their purpose; removing a submission is not the same as removing URLs from search.
What to check
- The submitted address is the actual working sitemap, not a preview.
- The correct property shows the submission and its processing result.
- Any fetch or parsing issue has a specific next action.
Sources and further reading
Platform features can change. Check the provider’s current guidance before changing a live service.