How to Submit Your Website Content and Articles to Google via XML Sitemap

How to Submit Your Website Content and Articles to Google via XML Sitemap

If you recently received an email from Google notifying you of improvements needed for your new website, or if you checked Google Search Console (GSC) and found that only 2 out of over 200 articles are indexed, you’re not alone. For many new website owners, the root cause of poor indexing is a missing XML sitemap submission. A sitemap acts as a roadmap for Google’s crawlers, guiding them to discover, crawl, and index all your valuable content—ensuring your articles get the visibility they deserve. After testing several sitemap plugins, I found XML Sitemap & Google News (paired with its advanced extension,XML Sitemap Advanced) to be the most reliable, while the popular XML Sitemap Generator for Google failed to work, producing empty content. In this guide, I’ll walk you through the step-by-step process to generate a functional sitemap and submit it to Google, solving your indexing woes.

Why Sitemaps Matter for Google Indexing

For new websites or sites with hundreds of articles, Google’s crawlers can struggle to discover all pages on their own—especially if your internal linking is limited. An XML sitemap solves this by listing all your website’s key pages, including articles, pages, and custom post types, along with critical details like last modified dates, update frequency, and content priority. This direct communication with Google ensures crawlers spend their budget efficiently, indexing your content faster and more comprehensively. Without a sitemap, even high-quality content may be overlooked, leading to poor visibility in search results.

Choosing the Right Sitemap Plugin (Avoiding Common Pitfalls)

Not all sitemap plugins are created equal. My experience testing two popular options highlights the importance of choosing a reliable tool:

• XML Sitemap & Google News (with XML Sitemap Advanced): This plugin combination is the standout choice for WordPress sites. The base plugin offers core sitemap functionality, while the XML Sitemap Advanced extension adds powerful features like automated pings to Google and Bing, a ping log to track notifications, compatibility with Yoast SEO and Rank Math (automatically excluding noindexed posts), and the ability to customize your sitemap URL. It’s user-friendly, compatible with multilingual plugins (Polylang & WPML), and ensures your sitemap is always up-to-date—even when new comments are added.
• XML Sitemap Generator for Google: Despite its popularity (with high activation rates), this plugin failed to generate a valid sitemap for my site, producing empty content. This issue is not uncommon—many users report similar problems after updates, with sitemaps missing posts or returning 404 errors. While some fixes exist (such as re-installing the plugin or downgrading to a previous version), the inconsistency makes it unreliable for critical indexing needs.

For best results, stick with XML Sitemap & Google News (and its Advanced extension if you need premium features). It meets all minimum requirements (WordPress 4.4+, PHP 5.6+; PHP 8+ recommended) and integrates seamlessly with common SEO tools and multilingual setups.

Step 1: Install and Configure XML Sitemap & Google News

Follow these steps to set up the plugin and generate your sitemap:

1. Install the Base Plugin: Log in to your WordPress dashboard, go to “Plugins” > “Add New,” search for “XML Sitemap & Google News,” install, and activate it. Ensure you’re using version 5.6 or later (required for the Advanced extension).
2. Optional: Install XML Sitemap Advanced: For advanced features like automated pings and SEO plugin compatibility, purchase the Advanced extension (starting at €19 for 1 site, including 1 year of updates and support, with a 30-day money-back guarantee). After purchase, download the plugin file and upload it to your WordPress site via “Plugins” > “Add New” > “Upload Plugin”.
3. Configure Sitemap Settings:
   1. Go to the plugin’s settings page (usually under “Settings” > “XML Sitemap”).
   2. Select which post types (articles, pages, custom post types) to include in your sitemap.
   3. Set last modified dates, update frequency, and content priority (critical for guiding Google’s crawlers).
   4. Exclude any taxonomies, authors, or empty archives you don’t want indexed (a feature both the base and Advanced plugins support).
   5. If using the Advanced extension, enable automated pings to Google and Bing—this ensures Google is notified every time your sitemap updates, accelerating indexing.
4. Verify Your Sitemap: After configuration, your sitemap will be generated automatically. Access it via your site’s URL (e.g., https://yourdomain.com/wp-sitemap.xml or https://yourdomain.com/sitemap-news.xml for Google News). Ensure it loads correctly and lists all your articles—if it does, you’re ready to submit it to Google.

Step 2: Submit Your Sitemap to Google Search Console

Once your sitemap is ready, submit it to GSC to notify Google of your content. Here’s how:

1. Set Up Google Search Console: If you haven’t already, sign up for GSC (https://search.google.com/search-console) and verify your website. For full coverage, use the “Domain Property” option (covers all subdomains and protocols) and verify via DNS (add a TXT record provided by GSC to your domain registrar).
2. Navigate to the Sitemaps Section: Log in to GSC, select your website property, and go to “Indexing” > “Sitemaps” from the sidebar menu.
3. Submit Your Sitemap URL: In the “Add a new sitemap” field, enter the URL of your sitemap (e.g., sitemap.xml or the custom URL you set in the plugin settings). Click “Submit”.
4. Monitor Submission Status: After submission, GSC will show the status of your sitemap (e.g., “Success,” “Processing,” or “Error”). Check back in a few hours (or days, for larger sites) to see how many URLs Google has discovered and indexed. You can also view detailed reports in GSC, including crawl errors, last submitted date, and last crawled date—features supported by bothXML Sitemap & Google News and its Advanced extension.

Troubleshooting Common Issues

If you encounter problems (like empty sitemaps or failed submissions), try these fixes:

• Empty Sitemaps (e.g., XML Sitemap Generator for Google): If a plugin produces empty content, try re-installing it, downgrading to a previous version (e.g., version 4.1.21 or earlier for XML Sitemap Generator for Google), or updating your permalinks (Settings > Permalinks > Save Changes).
• Compatibility Issues: Ensure your plugin is compatible with your WordPress version, PHP version, and other SEO plugins (Yoast, Rank Math). XML Sitemap Advanced is specifically designed to work with these tools, automatically excluding noindexed posts.
• Ping Failures: If using automated pings, ensure you have a Google Cloud Platform project with the Google Search Console API enabled (instructions are provided in the plugin admin).
• Slow Indexing: For large sites (200+ articles), use a caching plugin (e.g., WP Super Cache, W3 Total Cache) to improve sitemap performance. This helps Google crawl your sitemap faster without overwhelming your server.

Final Tips for Better Indexing

Submitting a sitemap is just the first step—here’s how to ensure Google indexes your content consistently:

• Keep your sitemap updated: The XML Sitemap & Google News plugin automatically updates your sitemap when you publish new articles or edit existing ones, and the Advanced extension pings Google automatically to notify it of changes.
• Optimize your content: Ensure your articles have unique, high-quality content and proper on-page SEO (meta titles, descriptions, internal links) to encourage Google to index and rank them.
• Monitor GSC regularly: Check the “Sitemaps” section and “URL Inspection” tool to identify and fix crawl errors, noindexed pages, or other issues that may block indexing.

By following these steps—choosing the right plugin, generating a comprehensive sitemap, and submitting it to Google—you’ll significantly improve your website’s indexing rate. For my site, switching to XML Sitemap & Google News (with the Advanced extension) resolved the empty sitemap issue and helped Google discover dozens of articles within days. Don’t let poor indexing hold back your new website—take control with a well-optimized sitemap today.