Categories
WordPress

How to create a WordPress sitemap, add it to robots.txt and submit it to Google

Introduction

This guide explains how to create a WordPress sitemap, add it to robots.txt and submit it to Google Search Console.

Sitemaps help search engines to efficiently crawl and index your site. This improves SEO, and will increase the likelihood of your site showing up in search results. Adding your sitemap to robots.txt ensures that search engines will find it. Submitting it to Google Search Console will allow you to view analysis of the sitemap and fix any problems that might be affecting your SEO.

Requirements

  1. A WordPress Admin account.
  2. A Google User Account with full access to the site in Google Search Console.

Skill Level

Basic knowledge of WordPress and Google Products.

Instructions

Time needed: 10 minutes.

  1. Install the Yoast SEO plugin.

    By default, WordPress doesn’t generate a sitemap. There are lots of free WordPress plugins which can do this. The Yoast SEO plugin is a good option, as it includes other useful SEO features.

  2. Add your sitemap to the robots.txt file.

    This makes sure all search engines can find the sitemap, even if you haven’t submitted the sitemap directly to them.

  3. Submit your sitemap in Google Search Console.

    Google should eventually pick up your sitemap if it’s included in your robots.txt, but this speeds up the process.