An XML sitemap is a file that lists the important pages on your website, helping search engines discover and crawl your content more efficiently. If you run a WordPress site with the Yoast SEO plugin, you already have a sitemap generated automatically. Many site owners just don't know where to find it or how to submit it to search engines. This guide explains how to get the XML sitemap from Yoast SEO, how to customize it, how to submit it to Google and Bing, and how to troubleshoot common issues.
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What Is an XML Sitemap?
An XML sitemap is a structured file written in a format search engines understand. It lists the URLs you want indexed, often along with details like when each page was last modified. Sitemaps are especially helpful for large websites, new websites with few backlinks, and sites with pages that aren't well linked internally. While a sitemap doesn't guarantee indexing, it gives search engines a clear map of your content.
How Yoast SEO Creates Sitemaps
Yoast SEO automatically generates an XML sitemap as soon as the plugin is activated, provided the feature is enabled. Instead of one massive file, Yoast creates a sitemap index that links to separate sitemaps for different content types, such as posts, pages, categories, tags, and authors. This organized structure makes it easier for search engines to process your content and updates automatically whenever you publish or edit content.
Step 1: Make Sure the XML Sitemap Feature Is Enabled
Log in to your WordPress dashboard and go to Yoast SEO, then Settings. Under the Site features section, find the APIs or technical area and locate the XML sitemaps option. Make sure it's switched on and save your changes. In older versions of Yoast, this setting appears under SEO, then General, then Features, where you can toggle XML sitemaps on.
Step 2: Find Your Sitemap URL
Once enabled, your sitemap index is usually available at yourdomain.com/sitemap_index.xml. You can also click the link to view the XML sitemap next to the setting in Yoast. Open the URL in your browser and you'll see a list of individual sitemaps, such as post-sitemap.xml, page-sitemap.xml, and category-sitemap.xml. Clicking each one shows the URLs it contains along with their last modified dates.
Step 3: Control What Appears in Your Sitemap
Yoast includes content types and taxonomies in the sitemap based on whether they're set to appear in search results. Go to Yoast SEO Settings and review the Content types and Categories and tags sections. If you set a content type to not show in search results, Yoast adds a noindex tag and removes it from the sitemap. This is useful for excluding thin archive pages, such as tag archives or author pages on single-author blogs.
You can also exclude individual pages or posts. Edit the page, open the Yoast SEO meta box, go to the Advanced tab, and set "Allow search engines to show this content in search results" to No. That page will then be removed from the sitemap automatically.
Step 4: Submit Your Sitemap to Google Search Console
Submitting your sitemap helps Google discover your content faster. Sign in to Google Search Console and select your website property. In the left menu, click Sitemaps. Enter sitemap_index.xml in the field provided and click Submit. Google will process the sitemap and show its status along with the number of discovered URLs. You only need to submit the index file, as Google will follow links to the individual sitemaps automatically.
Step 5: Submit Your Sitemap to Bing Webmaster Tools
Bing also powers search results for several other platforms and AI tools, so submitting your sitemap there is worthwhile. Log in to Bing Webmaster Tools, select your site, and go to the Sitemaps section. Click Submit sitemap, enter your full sitemap index URL, and confirm. You can also import your site directly from Google Search Console to speed up setup.
Step 6: Reference the Sitemap in robots.txt
Adding your sitemap location to robots.txt helps search engines find it even without manual submission. Many hosting setups already include it, but you can add a line like Sitemap: https://yourdomain.com/sitemap_index.xml to your robots.txt file. Yoast offers a file editor under its Tools section on many installations, making this easy to update.
Troubleshooting Common Sitemap Issues
If your sitemap shows a 404 error, go to Settings, then Permalinks in WordPress and click Save Changes to refresh rewrite rules. Caching plugins can sometimes serve outdated sitemaps, so clear your cache or exclude sitemap URLs from caching. Conflicts can occur if multiple SEO plugins generate sitemaps at once, so make sure only one is active. If Search Console reports errors, check that sitemap URLs return a 200 status and aren't blocked by robots.txt or security plugins.
Final Thoughts
Getting the XML sitemap from Yoast SEO is simple once you know where to look. Enable the feature, find your sitemap index URL, control which content is included, and submit it to Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools. A well-maintained sitemap helps search engines discover your content efficiently and supports stronger indexing across your WordPress site.
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