How to Create and Submit a Sitemap for Better SEO (2025 Complete Guide)

If you want your website to grow fast and get more visitors from Google, Bing, and Yandex, creating and submitting a sitemap is one of the most important SEO steps. A sitemap helps search engines understand your website structure and index all your pages correctly. In this complete 2025 guide by I Love Smart Tools, you’ll learn what a sitemap is, how to create it, and how to submit it to different search engines for the best SEO results.

XML Sitemap Structure

What Is a Sitemap?

A sitemap is a special file (usually called sitemap.xml) that lists all the important pages of your website. It acts like a roadmap for search engines, guiding them through your pages so that no content is missed during crawling. Think of it as a directory that tells Google what pages exist and how often they’re updated.

There are two main types of sitemaps:

  • XML Sitemap: Used for search engines to index your pages.
  • HTML Sitemap: Used for visitors to navigate your website easily.
Generate XML Sitemap Online

Why a Sitemap Is Important for SEO

Without a sitemap, Google might not discover all your pages—especially new, deep, or dynamically generated ones. Here’s why every Blogger and WordPress website should have a sitemap:

  • Ensures all your posts and pages are crawled quickly.
  • Improves your chances of appearing in search results.
  • Helps detect indexing errors in tools like Google Search Console.
  • Improves the internal linking structure for better visibility.
  • Boosts your overall SEO health score.

How to Create a Sitemap Automatically (for Blogger & WordPress)

1. For Blogger Websites

If you’re using Blogger, you don’t need any plugin to create a sitemap. Every Blogger site automatically generates a sitemap for you. To view it, simply add this at the end of your domain:

https://yourblogname.blogspot.com/sitemap.xml

Example (for I Love Smart Tools): https://i-love-pdf-tools.blogspot.com/sitemap.xml

2. For WordPress Websites

WordPress users can generate sitemaps easily with SEO plugins like:

  • Yoast SEO – Automatically generates an XML sitemap at /sitemap_index.xml.
  • Rank Math – Creates dynamic sitemaps and allows page-level control.
  • All in One SEO – Generates multiple sitemaps (posts, pages, images, etc.).
WordPress Sitemap Example

How to Submit Your Sitemap to Google Search Console

  1. Go to Google Search Console.
  2. Select your website property.
  3. In the left sidebar, click on Sitemaps.
  4. Enter sitemap.xml and click Submit.

After submission, you can check the status (Success, Pending, or Error). Make sure you update the sitemap whenever you add or remove pages. This ensures Google always knows your latest content updates.

Google Sitemap Submission

How to Submit Sitemap to Bing and Yandex

Bing Webmaster Tools:

  1. Login to Bing Webmaster Tools.
  2. Click Configure My Site → Sitemaps.
  3. Enter your sitemap URL (e.g. https://i-love-pdf-tools.blogspot.com/sitemap.xml).
  4. Click Submit.

Yandex Webmaster:

  1. Go to Yandex Webmaster.
  2. Add and verify your site.
  3. Navigate to Indexing → Sitemap files.
  4. Submit your sitemap link and monitor indexing progress.

Best Practices for Maintaining Your Sitemap

  • Always include only important and indexed pages.
  • Remove broken or noindex URLs regularly.
  • Keep the file size below 50MB or 50,000 URLs.
  • Update your sitemap after adding new posts.
  • Use canonical tags to avoid duplicate pages.

Useful Tools for Sitemap Generation

Here are some trusted, free online sitemap generators that work perfectly in 2025:

Common Sitemap Errors and Fixes

  • Blocked by Robots.txt: Make sure your robots.txt file allows sitemap access.
  • Invalid URLs: Check that all links in your sitemap start with HTTPS.
  • Duplicate Entries: Avoid repeating the same URLs.
  • Outdated Sitemap: Regenerate the file after major website updates.

Final Thoughts

Creating and submitting a sitemap is one of the easiest but most powerful SEO strategies for your website. Whether you use Blogger or WordPress, it helps search engines discover your pages faster and ensures nothing gets missed during indexing. At I Love Smart Tools, we always recommend every new blogger to create and monitor their sitemap regularly. For more guides, visit I Love Smart Tools — your trusted platform for smart blogging and SEO solutions.