Words Google uses · 2 min · October 15, 2026

What a sitemap is, in one minute.

A list of your pages, written for Google. Most sites have one and never look at it. You should, once.

Written by Footprnt, from Google's own definitions

A sitemap is a file on your website that lists every page you want Google to know about. Google reads it to find pages, especially new ones and ones nothing links to.

What goes wrong with it

It lists pages that no longer exist, so Google follows the list to an error. It misses pages people actually visit, so Google finds them late or not at all. Or it lists a page that sends visitors elsewhere. The file calls that a page; Google does not.

What Footprnt does with it

Reads the list, opens every page on it, and draws the site from it: the home page, your sections, every page under them. Then it says which pages are in the file but not in Google, and which are in Google but not in the file. And which ones Google itself has flagged. Once a week, without being asked.