WiscWeb - Adding a Sitemap to Google Search Console
Having an XML sitemap submitted to Google Search Console can improve your sites' Search Engine Optimization. It allows Google to more easily crawl your site, providing a more complete picture of the site's page list.
Important
- Note: Google Search Console is not a “core app” under UW-Madison’s Google Privacy Policy or Terms of Service.
- Support: Support is not available from the UW-Madison Google team for non-core apps. We recommend the following for assistance:
- Review Google documentation.
- Enroll in free Google training.
- Recommendation: Use a departmental service account when using non-core apps to share ownership of data and avoid losing access to data owned by a former employee/student.
- Setting up Google Search Console
- Finding Your Sitemap
- Verify Your Site with Google Search Console
- Adding your sitemap in Google Search Console
- Training video that includes Google Search Console conversation
Setting up Google Search Console
Before proceeding, you should have a Google Search Console account created and set up for your WiscWeb site. For more information on this process, please refer to WiscWeb - Adding Google Search Console to Your Site.
Finding Your Sitemap
WordPress accommodates sitemaps as part of its core technology. Therefore, every WiscWeb site will automatically have a sitemap created (no building required).
To locate your sitemap:
- Navigate to your website URL
- Append "/wp-sitemap.xml" to the end of your URL and press enter (Example: sitename.wisc.edu/wp-sitemap.xml)
- You should see a page that lists all of the links on your site
Troubleshooting Tip: If you receive a "Page not found" message when you navigate to your /wp-sitemap.xml URL, the issue might be that your site is not set up to be indexed by Google. This setting gets turned off by default when your site launches, but could have been manually set by a member of your team at some point. To fix this issue, navigate to Settings > Reading in your dashboard and uncheck the option that says "Discourage search engines from indexing this site."
Verify Your Site with Google Search Console
You will need to verify your site with Google Search Console, following the steps at WiscWeb - Adding Google Search Console to Your Site.
Adding Your Sitemap to Google Search Console
Once your site has been verified, continue into Google Search Console to get to your Dashboard screen for your site.
Click on Sitemaps on the left. Once there, enter the sitemap URL for your site and click Submit. This will add your sitemap to the Google Search Console service.
