Build a valid XML sitemap in seconds. Add your URLs, set priority and update frequency, then download sitemap.xml ready to submit to Google Search Console.
Don't add pages with noindex tags, 404s, redirects, or duplicate content. Google may ignore your whole sitemap if it contains too many bad URLs.
Homepage priority = 1.0
Set your homepage to 1.0 and scale down from there. Key landing pages (pricing, features) should be 0.8–0.9. Blog posts 0.6–0.7.
Update lastmod accurately
Only change lastmod when the page content actually changes. Frequent fake updates train Google to trust your dates less.
Submit to Search Console
After uploading sitemap.xml to your server root, go to Google Search Console → Sitemaps → paste the URL → Submit.
Max 50,000 URLs
A single sitemap can have up to 50,000 URLs and must be under 50MB. For larger sites, use a sitemap index file.
Add to robots.txt
Include Sitemap: https://yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml in your robots.txt so all crawlers can find it automatically.
A sitemap helps Google find you — but AI search works differently
AI models like ChatGPT don't crawl sitemaps. Citevis shows you exactly when and how AI search engines mention your brand, and what to fix to get cited more.
An XML sitemap is a file that lists all the important pages on your website, helping search engines like Google discover and index your content faster. It includes metadata like when each page was last updated, how often it changes, and how important it is relative to other pages.
Where do I put my sitemap.xml file?
Upload sitemap.xml to your website's root directory so it's accessible at https://yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml. Then submit that URL in Google Search Console under Sitemaps. Also add a Sitemap: line to your robots.txt file so all crawlers can find it automatically.
What should the priority value be?
Priority ranges from 0.1 to 1.0 and is relative — it only tells Google the importance of pages within your site, not across the web. Use 1.0 for your homepage, 0.8–0.9 for key landing pages, 0.6–0.7 for blog posts, and 0.3–0.5 for tag or archive pages. The default is 0.5 if omitted.
How often should I update my sitemap?
Update your sitemap whenever you add new pages or make significant changes to existing ones. For dynamic sites with frequent content updates (like blogs), you can automate sitemap generation. The lastmod field tells Google when each page was last meaningfully changed — only update it for real content changes.
Does having a sitemap improve my Google ranking?
A sitemap doesn't directly improve rankings, but it ensures Google can find and index all your pages — especially new or deep-linked content. Without a sitemap, Google may miss important pages or take longer to discover them. For new websites, a sitemap is especially important since you have fewer inbound links for crawlers to follow.