Google guide

How to submit your sitemap to Google

Google retired its sitemap ping endpoint (google.com/ping?sitemap=) in late 2023. There is no API or ping URL for regular Google web search anymore — the supported path is Search Console.

Step 1 — Verify your site in Search Console

  1. Go to Google Search Console and sign in.
  2. Add your domain as a property (domain-level verification via DNS is best).
  3. Verify with the DNS TXT record, then wait for confirmation.

Step 2 — Submit your sitemap

  1. In the left menu, open Sitemaps.
  2. Enter your sitemap path (e.g. sitemap.xml) and click Submit.
  3. Status should turn to "Success" — Google re-checks it on its own schedule afterward.

Step 3 — Speed up important pages

For key URLs, use URL Inspection: paste the URL, then Request indexing. Quota is limited (roughly 10/day), so save it for pages that matter.

Step 4 — Reference the sitemap in robots.txt

Add this line to your robots.txt so every crawler finds it:

Sitemap: https://YOUR-DOMAIN/sitemap.xml

Meanwhile: ping everyone else instantly

While Google works through Search Console, ping IndexNow to get the same URLs into Bing, Yandex, Seznam, and Naver within minutes.