1. Having XML Sitemap
Create an XML sitemap listing all important pages of your website. This helps search engines discover and index pages faster.
Example: https://www.example.com/sitemap.xml
If you are using WordPress website then Yoast. Rankmath etc. plugins will generate xml sitemap automatically and url looks like this: https://www.example.com/sitemap_index.xml
2. No Syntax Errors
Validate the sitemap to ensure proper XML syntax and UTF-8 encoding. Errors can prevent search engines from reading the file.
Example: Use an online validator to check for missing tags or encoding issues.
3. Use <lastmod> Date
Include the last modification date for each page. Google uses it to detect updates, though it ignores <priority> and <changefreq>.
Example: <lastmod>2026-03-01</lastmod>
4. Exclude Non-Indexable Pages
Do not list canonical duplicates, 3xx, 4xx, 5xx, noindex, or disallowed pages. Only include pages you want indexed.
Example: Avoid adding /old-page-redirect or /admin URLs.
5. Sitemap Size Limits
Keep each sitemap under 10k–20k URLs for manageability. Google allows up to 50k URLs or 50MB per file.
As per my experience, we should split large sites into multiple sitemaps with a sitemap index for better crawling and sever response time.
You can use gzip xml sitemap if pages are in millions. A gzip compressed sitemap (.xml.gz) has a maximum size limit of 50MB (52,428,800 bytes) when uncompressed, or a maximum of 50,000 URLs, whichever is reached first. If your sitemap exceeds these limits, you must split it into multiple files and use a sitemap index file.
6. Full URLs with Protocol
Include the full URL with protocol (https). This ensures search engines can access the page correctly.
Example: https://www.example.com/blog/post1
7. Consistent Protocols
Ensure all URLs use the same protocol (http or https) to avoid indexing issues.
Example: Do not mix http://www.example.com and https://www.example.com URLs.
8. Encode Special Characters
Use URL encoding for special characters in page URLs to avoid errors.
Example: A URL like /café should be encoded as /caf%C3%A9.
9. Use Sitemap Index for Multiple Sitemaps
Reference multiple sitemaps in a sitemap index file for large websites.
Example: sitemap_index.xml containing sitemap1.xml, sitemap2.xml.
10. Include Media and Alternate Pages
Include images, videos, mobile pages, and alternate language versions. This improves indexing of rich content.
Example: <image:image><image:loc>https://www.example.com/img1.jpg</image:loc></image:image>
If you are using WordPress with SEO plugins like Yoast and Rankmath that will add media files automatically in the xml sitemap.
11. Limit Images Per Page
Do not exceed 1000 images per page in the sitemap to prevent parsing issues.
Example: Split product gallery pages with many images into multiple sitemaps.
12. Submit Sitemap to Search Engines
Submit your sitemap in Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools to ensure all pages are indexed.
Example: Enter https://www.example.com/sitemap.xml in Google Search Console.
13. Sitemap URL in Robots.txt
Add the sitemap location in the robots.txt file to make it discoverable by crawlers.
Example: Sitemap: https://www.example.com/sitemap.xml
14. Optional Noindex for Competitors
If you want to prevent competitors from viewing sitemaps, you can add a noindex HTTP header. Otherwise, this is not needed.
Example: X-Robots-Tag: noindex
and you can use any random name for the sitemap so competitors can’t guess it easily.
Example: /guide.xml (we can use any name, no restrictions)
15. Monitor Webmaster Errors
Regularly check for errors in webmaster tools and fix them promptly to ensure all pages are indexed.
Example: Google Search Console reports invalid URLs, duplicates, or blocked pages.
Note: sitemap.txt is also valid but not recommended.
Bonus: crawl your sitemap using screemingfrog or any SEO tool and find invalid pages and fix them then submit to google search console and other search engine’s webmaster.