Sitemaps Suite
Manage, monitor, and analyze your XML sitemaps
Updated 2024-12-20
Sitemaps Suite
Manage, monitor, and analyze your XML sitemaps to ensure all your content gets indexed.
Overview
The Sitemaps Suite provides:
- Sitemap Monitoring: Track all submitted sitemaps
- Coverage Analysis: See what's indexed vs submitted
- Content Breakdown: Analyze sitemap contents
- Error Detection: Identify problematic URLs
- Submission Management: Submit and remove sitemaps
Sitemaps Dashboard
Sitemap List
View all sitemaps for your property:
| Column | Description |
|---|---|
| Sitemap URL | Location of the sitemap |
| Type | Index, Regular, Image, Video, News |
| URLs | Number of URLs in sitemap |
| Indexed | URLs actually indexed |
| Last Read | When Google last fetched |
| Submitted | When you submitted it |
Sitemap Health Indicators
- ✅ Healthy: High index ratio, no errors
- ⚠️ Warning: Some URLs not indexed
- ❌ Error: Sitemap has issues
Sitemap Contents
Viewing Contents
Click on any sitemap to see its contents:
- URL list with status
- Last modified dates
- Priority values
- Change frequency
Content Analysis
| Metric | Description |
|---|---|
| Total URLs | URLs in sitemap |
| Indexed | Successfully indexed |
| Not Indexed | Discovered but not indexed |
| Error | Has crawl errors |
| Excluded | Intentionally excluded |
Filtering URLs
Filter by:
- Index status
- Last modified date
- URL pattern
- Priority value
Coverage Integration
Connecting with GSC Coverage
Sitemaps Suite integrates with Coverage data:
- See why URLs aren't indexed
- Identify coverage errors
- Track excluded pages
- Monitor valid URLs
Common Coverage Issues
| Issue | URLs Affected | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Crawled, not indexed | Content quality issue | Improve content |
| Discovered, not crawled | Low priority | Improve internal linking |
| Soft 404 | Thin content | Add content or remove |
| Server error | Technical issue | Fix server |
Sitemap Management
Submitting a Sitemap
- Go to Content → Sitemaps
- Click "Submit Sitemap"
- Enter the sitemap URL
- Click "Submit"
Sitemap is submitted to Google Search Console.
Removing a Sitemap
- Select the sitemap
- Click "Remove"
- Confirm removal
Note: This only removes from GSC tracking, not from your server.
Testing a Sitemap
Before submitting:
- Enter sitemap URL
- Click "Test"
- Review validation results
- Fix any errors before submitting
Sitemap Best Practices
Sitemap Structure
For large sites, use sitemap indexes:
/sitemap-index.xml
├── /sitemap-posts.xml (blog posts)
├── /sitemap-pages.xml (static pages)
├── /sitemap-products.xml (products)
└── /sitemap-images.xml (image sitemap)
URL Guidelines
| Do | Don't |
|---|---|
| Include canonical URLs only | Include duplicate content |
| Use absolute URLs | Use relative URLs |
| Update regularly | Submit and forget |
| Remove 404s | Leave broken URLs |
Frequency & Priority
- Set
<lastmod>accurately - Use
<priority>sparingly <changefreq>is a hint, not a rule- Update when content changes
Monitoring & Alerts
Automated Monitoring
Set up alerts for:
- Sitemap fetch errors
- Significant index ratio drops
- New coverage errors
- URLs removed from index
Monitoring Dashboard
- Trends over time
- Index ratio charts
- Error tracking
- Submission history
Sitemap Reports
Generating Reports
Export sitemap analysis:
- Full URL list
- Coverage status per URL
- Error breakdown
- Recommendations
Report Contents
- Executive Summary: Overall sitemap health
- URL Analysis: Per-URL status
- Error Report: Issues to fix
- Action Items: Prioritized fixes
Integration with Content Planning
Using Sitemap Data
- Identify pages getting indexed
- Find orphan pages (not in sitemap)
- Track new content indexing
- Monitor content removals
Content to Sitemap Workflow
- Publish content
- Automatically added to sitemap (via CMS)
- Google discovers via sitemap
- Track in Sitemaps Suite
- Monitor until indexed