What belongs in an XML sitemap, and what doesn't

An XML sitemap is a list of the URLs you want search engines to know about. Most platforms generate one automatically, which is useful until it starts listing redirects, filtered views and pages you have hidden from search. Then it sends mixed messages about which URLs matter. The rule that fixes most sitemaps is simple: list only the pages you want people to find.

Do you need a sitemap?

Most business sites benefit from one, even when Google could find every page without it. Google says sitemaps matter most for large sites, new sites with few links from elsewhere and sites with a lot of video or images, while a site of about 500 pages or fewer that is well linked internally might not need one. We add one anyway: most platforms generate it, and it lets you check indexing per sitemap in Search Console.

Keep expectations realistic. Google calls submitting a sitemap a hint, and listing a URL doesn't guarantee it will be crawled or indexed.

Which pages belong in it?

Only the canonical, indexable version of each page you want in search results, at a URL that loads directly. Google's guidance is to include the URLs you want to see in its results and, where the same content is available at several URLs, to list only the one you prefer.

• Use full absolute URLs, including https:// and your preferred host. Google crawls URLs exactly as listed.
• List HTTPS versions only. Google warns against putting HTTP versions in sitemaps.
• Include service pages, case studies, articles and key landing pages. The order doesn't matter to Google.
• On larger sites, split the list into several sitemaps, such as pages, articles and case studies, under one sitemap index, so you can track indexing for each.

What should you leave out?

Leave out every URL that contradicts what you are asking Google to show. Google treats each URL in a sitemap as a suggested canonical, and advises against naming one URL in a sitemap while another signal names a different one.

• Redirected URLs. A permanent redirect tells Google the target should be canonical, so list the target, not the old address.
• Pages with noindex. You have asked Google not to index them, so don't also suggest them.
• Duplicates, such as parameter, sort and filter URLs, and any page whose canonical tag points elsewhere.
• URLs that return errors. Google removes indexed URLs that return 4xx codes.
• Pages nobody should land on from search, such as thank-you pages, internal search results and staging copies.

Does lastmod matter?

Yes, when it is accurate. Google ignores <priority> and <changefreq>, but uses <lastmod> to schedule recrawls when the value is consistently and verifiably accurate. Bing also ignores changefreq and priority, and calls lastmod a key signal.

Change lastmod only for a significant update: the main content, structured data or links. A new copyright year or a footer tweak doesn't count, and the value should record when the page changed, not when the sitemap was generated. Google has said that if lastmod keeps claiming changes that didn't happen, it eventually stops trusting it. Where your platform can't tell, as with category pages that only aggregate other pages, it is fine to leave lastmod out.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<urlset xmlns="http://www.sitemaps.org/schemas/sitemap/0.9">
  <url>
    <loc>https://www.example.com/services/web-design/</loc>
    <lastmod>2026-10-14T09:30:00+00:00</lastmod>
  </url>
</urlset>

What are the technical limits?

One sitemap can hold up to 50,000 URLs or 50MB uncompressed; beyond that, split it and use a sitemap index. The file must be UTF-8, and values must be entity-escaped, so & in a URL becomes &. Host the sitemap at the root of the site: unless you submit it in Search Console, a sitemap only covers URLs in its own folder and below. A sitemap can also carry hreflang annotations for language versions, and those entries don't count towards the URL limit.

How do you submit it?

Submit it in Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools, and list it in robots.txt. In Search Console, paste the sitemap URL into the Sitemaps report and click Submit; the status then shows Success, Has errors or Couldn't fetch. Bing fetches a sitemap when you submit it and typically revisits it at least once a day. Google has retired its old sitemap ping endpoint, so plugins that still ping it achieve nothing.

Afterwards, filter the Page indexing report by sitemap to see how many of its URLs are indexed. A large gap between submitted and indexed is a prompt to check those URLs against the lists above.

Where to start

Open your sitemap, pick twenty URLs at random and load each one. Every URL should load without a redirect, be the canonical version and be a page you want found. If several fail, fix the generator settings rather than the list. Our SEO and AI search service can audit and fix your sitemap setup, or start with a website review.