Google Sitemap Submit

Overview

When you connect Google Search Console to Sight AI, you can automatically submit your sitemap to Google. This ensures Google knows about all the pages on your site and can crawl them efficiently.

Prerequisites

• Google Search Console connected – Connect GSC first
• Valid XML sitemap – Your site needs a properly formatted sitemap
• Sitemap accessible – Google must be able to access your sitemap URL

Sitemap Requirements

Your sitemap should:

• Be valid XML format
• Include all important pages
• Be under 50MB uncompressed (or 50,000 URLs)
• Be accessible without authentication
• Use consistent URL formats (with or without www)

Common Sitemap Locations

Sight AI checks these locations automatically:

• https://yoursite.com/sitemap.xml
• https://yoursite.com/sitemap_index.xml
• https://yoursite.com/sitemap-index.xml
• https://yoursite.com/post-sitemap.xml (WordPress)

Submitting Your Sitemap

Automatic Detection

When you add a site to Sight AI:

1. Sight AI searches for your sitemap automatically
2. If found, it's stored for monitoring
3. You can submit to GSC after connecting

Manual Submission

1. Go to Site Settings → Indexing
2. Verify your sitemap URL is correct
3. Click "Submit to Google"
4. Sight AI submits the sitemap via the GSC API
5. Check the submission status

Using a Custom Sitemap URL

If your sitemap is at a non-standard location:

1. Go to Site Settings
2. Find Sitemap URL
3. Enter your custom sitemap URL
4. Save changes
5. Submit to Google

Sitemap Index Files

If your site uses a sitemap index (multiple sitemaps), Sight AI handles this automatically:

• Detects sitemap index files
• Parses all child sitemaps
• Monitors all sitemaps for changes
• Submits the index file to Google

Checking Submission Status

After submitting, view the status:

• Pending – Submitted, waiting for Google to process
• Success – Google accepted the sitemap
• Error – Issues detected (see error message)

Google typically processes sitemap submissions within a few hours.

Automatic Resubmission

Sight AI can automatically resubmit your sitemap:

• When significant changes are detected
• Periodically to ensure Google has the latest version
• After you manually trigger a refresh

Common Issues

Sitemap Not Found

• Verify your sitemap URL is correct
• Check that the sitemap is publicly accessible
• Try accessing the URL in an incognito browser
• Manually enter the sitemap URL in site settings

Submission Errors

Common errors and solutions:

• "Could not fetch" – Google can't access the sitemap URL
• "Invalid format" – Sitemap has XML errors
• "URLs not in property" – Sitemap URLs don't match GSC property

Slow Indexing Despite Submission

Sitemap submission doesn't guarantee immediate indexing. Google decides when to crawl based on:

• Site authority and crawl budget
• Content quality signals
• Server response times
• Historical crawl data

Best Practices

• Keep sitemap updated – Ensure your CMS updates the sitemap automatically
• Include last modified dates – Helps Google prioritize crawling
• Remove old URLs – Don't include 404 pages
• Use consistent URLs – Avoid mixing http/https or www/non-www
• Validate regularly – Check your sitemap for errors

Next Steps

• Set up IndexNow for Bing
• Monitor your sitemap status
• Enable Autopilot for automated content