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Glossary

XML sitemap

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An XML sitemap is a file in which you list the pages and other files of your website for search engines, optionally with the date each was last changed. It helps search engines find URLs, but does not guarantee they will be crawled or indexed.

An XML sitemap is a file in which you list the pages of your website for search engines, optionally with the date a page last genuinely changed. Search engines mainly find pages through links; a sitemap helps them find URLs they would otherwise miss. Google does point out that a sitemap is no guarantee that every URL will be crawled and indexed.

Example

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<urlset xmlns="http://www.sitemaps.org/schemas/sitemap/0.9">
  <url>
    <loc>https://www.example.com/services/maintenance</loc>
    <lastmod>2026-10-02</lastmod>
  </url>
</urlset>

What should you watch for?

  • According to Google, a single sitemap can hold up to 50 MB or 50,000 URLs. Larger sites split the sitemap and group the parts in a sitemap index.
  • Use full addresses, including https://.
  • Google only uses lastmod when the date is reliable, and ignores priority and changefreq.
  • You submit the sitemap through Google Search Console or with a Sitemap: line in robots.txt.

Common mistake

Listing pages that return a redirect, an error code or a noindex. Only include URLs you want in the search results. Many systems, Shopify among them, generate the sitemap automatically. More checks are in the technical SEO checklist.

Sources

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