Congratulations on launching your new WordPress website! Now comes the crucial next step: making sure search engines can find, crawl, and index your site so potential visitors can discover you. At Insight Dezign, we often hear from clients who wonder why their new website isn’t appearing in Google search results. The answer typically involves a few technical steps that many website owners overlook.
This guide will walk you through the technical process of getting your WordPress site properly set up for search engines, with special focus on utilizing popular tools like Yoast SEO and Google Site Kit to submit your WordPress sitemap to search engines.
Understanding the Importance of Sitemaps
Before diving into the technical steps, let’s understand why sitemaps matter. A sitemap is essentially a roadmap of your website that helps search engines discover and understand your content. Without a properly submitted sitemap, search engines might eventually find your site, but the process will be much slower and less efficient.
Step 1: Setting Up Yoast SEO XML Sitemaps
Yoast SEO is one of the most popular WordPress plugins for search engine optimization, and it includes powerful sitemap functionality. Here’s how to access and configure it to submit your WordPress sitemap to search engines:
- Install Yoast SEO if you haven’t already (Navigate to Plugins > Add New > search for “Yoast SEO” > Install > Activate)
- Access XML Sitemap settings:
- Go to your WordPress dashboard
- Navigate to “Yoast SEO” in the left sidebar
- Click on “Settings”
- Select the “General->Site Features” tab
- Scroll down to the “APIs” section
- Look for “XML Sitemaps” and ensure the “Enable feature” toggle is switched to on
- Verify your sitemap exists:
- While still in the Yoast settings, click the “View the XML Sitemap” link
- This will open your sitemap in a new tab, usually at yourdomain.com/sitemap_index.xml
- The sitemap should display a list of all your content types (posts, pages, etc.)
- Customize sitemap settings (optional):
- Return to Yoast SEO > Settings
- Select the “Content types” tab
- Navigate through the content types (Posts, Pages, etc.)
- For each type, you can set whether they should appear in the sitemap
Remember to note your sitemap URL (typically yourdomain.com/sitemap_index.xml) as you’ll need it in the next steps when you submit your WordPress sitemap to search engines.
Step 2: Installing and Configuring Google Site Kit
Google Site Kit is Google’s official WordPress plugin that integrates various Google tools directly into your WordPress dashboard. Here’s how to set it up:
- Install Google Site Kit:
- Go to Plugins > Add New
- Search for “Site Kit by Google”
- Click “Install” and then “Activate”
- Connect Google Account:
- After activation, you’ll see a Site Kit setup banner
- Click “Start Setup”
- Sign in with the Google account you want to use
- Grant the necessary permissions
- Complete Site Verification:
- Site Kit will guide you through verifying ownership of your site
- Choose your preferred verification method (typically the “HTML tag” option is easiest)
- Complete the verification process
- Connect Google Services:
- After verification, you’ll be prompted to connect various Google services
- At minimum, connect Search Console (essential for indexing)
- Optionally connect Analytics, AdSense, and PageSpeed Insights
- Verify Search Console is properly connected:
- In your WordPress dashboard, go to Site Kit > Search Console
- Check that data is being displayed (may take 24-48 hours to populate)
Step 3: Manually Submitting Your Sitemap to Google Search Console
While Google Site Kit connects your WordPress site to Search Console, you still need to manually submit your WordPress sitemap to search engines:
- Access Search Console directly:
- Go to Google Search Console
- Select your property (website)
- Submit your sitemap:
- In the left sidebar, click “Sitemaps”
- In the “Add a new sitemap” field, enter “sitemap_index.xml” (or the appropriate path for your sitemap from Step 1)
- Click “Submit”
- Verify submission:
- Your sitemap should appear under “Submitted sitemaps”
- Check the status column for any errors
- Note the “Discovered URLs” column, which shows how many pages Google found
According to Google’s documentation: “Google will try to crawl a sitemap as soon as you submit it. If the request succeeds, Google will continue to recrawl the sitemap at a pace independent of the site crawl schedule.”
Step 4: Submitting Your Sitemap to Bing Webmaster Tools
Don’t forget about Bing! Many site owners overlook this search engine, but it’s worth taking the time to submit your WordPress sitemap to search engines beyond just Google:
- Create a Bing Webmaster Tools account:
- Go to Bing Webmaster Tools
- Sign in with a Microsoft account
- Add your site
- Verify ownership:
- Choose a verification method (if you’ve already verified with Google, you can import from there)
- Complete the verification process
- Submit your sitemap:
- In the left sidebar, navigate to “Configure My Site” > “Sitemaps”
- Enter your full sitemap URL (e.g., https://yourdomain.com/sitemap_index.xml)
- Click “Submit”
Step 5: Verifying Indexing Status and Troubleshooting
After you submit your WordPress sitemap to search engines, you’ll want to monitor the indexing process:
- Check indexing status in Search Console:
- In Google Search Console, go to “Coverage” report
- Look for any errors or excluded pages
- Monitor the “Valid” pages count to see how many pages are indexed
- Request indexing for important pages:
- In Search Console, use the URL Inspection tool for key pages
- Enter the full URL of an important page
- Click “Request Indexing” to prioritize that page
- Common issues and solutions:
- No pages indexed: Check for “noindex” tags in your theme or Yoast settings
- Excluded pages: Review the reason provided in Search Console
- Sitemap errors: Ensure your sitemap is properly formatted and accessible
Additional Technical Tips for WordPress Site Owners
Beyond the basic sitemap submission, consider these technical optimizations:
- Enable pretty permalinks:
- Go to Settings > Permalinks
- Choose “Post name” structure for SEO-friendly URLs
- Configure Yoast title and meta description templates:
- Go to Yoast SEO > Search Appearance
- Set up templates for each content type
- Set up proper SSL/HTTPS:
- Search engines prefer secure websites
- Ensure your site uses HTTPS throughout
- Optimize images:
- Use descriptive filenames
- Add ALT text to all images
- Compress images for faster loading
- Configure caching:
- Install a caching plugin like WP Rocket or W3 Total Cache
- Enable browser caching for better performance
Using Google Site Kit Data to Improve Visibility
Once your site is indexed, Google Site Kit provides valuable data directly in your WordPress dashboard:
- Monitor search performance:
- Review top queries bringing visitors to your site
- Identify pages with high impressions but low clicks
- Track PageSpeed insights:
- Address any performance issues flagged by Site Kit
- Focus on “Core Web Vitals” metrics
- Analyze user behavior:
- If you’ve connected Analytics, review user flow and engagement
- Identify high bounce rate pages that need improvement
Conclusion: Patience and Persistence
Even after completing all these technical steps to submit your WordPress sitemap to search engines, remember that SEO is a marathon, not a sprint. New websites typically take several weeks to start ranking, even with perfect technical setup. Continue creating quality content, building backlinks, and monitoring your performance data.
At Insight Dezign, we help clients navigate these technical challenges every day. If you’re struggling with getting your WordPress site found in search engines, our team can perform a thorough technical SEO audit and implement the necessary fixes to improve your visibility.
Need expert assistance with your WordPress SEO? Contact our team for personalized support.
Last updated: April 5, 2025. Search engine processes and WordPress plugin interfaces may change over time. For the most current information, consult with an SEO professional.