XML sitemaps: what to include, what to skip and how to submit
A sitemap tells search engines which pages you want crawled. This guide gives Google's and the sitemaps.org protocol's exact limits and rules, what Google ignores, and a checklist, using our own build as the example. It belongs to websites, SEO and AdSense; for page speed signals see Core Web Vitals explained.
By the Chelure Enterprises Editorial Team. Last reviewed . How we check our sources.
What a sitemap is, and whether you need one
Google describes a sitemap as a file that gives search engines information about your site's pages, videos and other files and how they relate, which they read to crawl more efficiently. It is likely useful if the site is large, is new with few external links, or has many video, image or news pages, and may be unnecessary for a well-linked site of about 500 pages or fewer. It does not guarantee crawling or indexing, and submitting one is merely a hint.
The rules
| Rule | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Formats | XML (most versatile, with image, video, news and localized extensions); RSS 2.0 and Atom 1.0 (recent URLs only); plain text with one URL per line and a .txt extension | |
| Size | 50 MB uncompressed or 50,000 URLs per sitemap; a sitemap index can list up to 50,000 sitemaps and is also capped at 50 MB | Google; sitemaps.org |
| Encoding | UTF-8; entity-escape ampersand, single quote, double quote, greater-than and less-than in values | sitemaps.org |
| Required tags | urlset, url and loc; loc must begin with the protocol and be under 2,048 characters | sitemaps.org |
| URLs | Fully qualified, absolute URLs; unless submitted in Search Console, a sitemap affects only descendants of its parent directory, so place it at the root | |
| priority and changefreq | Google ignores both | |
| lastmod | Google uses it only if consistently and verifiably accurate; reflect significant changes to content, structured data or links |
A minimal example
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<urlset xmlns="http://www.sitemaps.org/schemas/sitemap/0.9">
<url>
<loc>https://createchz.com/tokens/token-counter/</loc>
<lastmod>2026-11-13</lastmod>
</url>
</urlset>How to submit
- Publish the sitemap at your site root.
- Add
Sitemap: https://example.com/sitemap.xmlto robots.txt; multiple lines are allowed. - Submit it in Search Console's Sitemaps report, which shows when Googlebot read it and any errors, or through the Search Console API.
A checklist
- List only canonical, indexable pages; leave out pages marked noindex and duplicates. (On this site, pages marked noindex are kept out of the sitemap by the build.)
- Keep lastmod honest: update it only when a page materially changes.
- Do not rely on priority or changefreq; Google ignores them.
- Split files before they reach 50,000 URLs or 50 MB and list them in a sitemap index.
- Check the Search Console report after each submission.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a sitemap?
Google says a sitemap is likely useful if your site is large, is new with few external links, or has many video, image or news pages, and may not be needed if the site has about 500 pages or fewer and is well linked internally. It does not guarantee that every item will be crawled and indexed.
How big can a sitemap be?
All formats limit a single sitemap to 50 MB uncompressed or 50,000 URLs. Larger sites split sitemaps and may use a sitemap index file, which can list up to 50,000 sitemaps.
Does Google use priority and changefreq?
No. Google says it ignores priority and changefreq values. It uses lastmod only if the value is consistently and verifiably accurate, and a changed copyright date is not a significant update.
How do I submit a sitemap?
Submit it in Search Console's Sitemaps report or through the Search Console API, add a Sitemap line to robots.txt, or for RSS and Atom feeds use WebSub. Google calls submitting a sitemap merely a hint.
What belongs in a sitemap?
Fully qualified absolute URLs of pages you want indexed. Leave out noindex pages and duplicates. A sitemap placed at the site root can cover the whole site.
Sources
- Google Search Central: build and submit a sitemap
- Google Search Central: sitemaps overview
- sitemaps.org: sitemap protocol
Primary sources opened on November 13, 2026. Prices come from our verified price table (see the methodology).