# Sitemap

A sitemap is a file that lists the addresses on your website, so Google can more easily find all the pages you want included in search.

Source: https://ibenta.no/en/glossary/sitemap
Publisher: Ibenta (https://ibenta.no)
Updated: 2026-09-27

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The sitemap is an XML file meant for search engines, not for people. It shows which pages exist, and often when they were last changed. It is most useful for new sites with few links pointing to them, and for large sites with many pages.

## A hint, not a guarantee

[Google states](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/sitemaps/build-sitemap) that a submitted sitemap is only a hint. It does not guarantee that the pages will be crawled or end up in the [index](/en/glossary/indexing). A page that is weak, or much the same as another, will not get in just because it is listed in the sitemap. But without a sitemap, a new page can take longer to be discovered.

Many publishing systems create the file automatically. WordPress has done so [since version 5.5](https://make.wordpress.org/core/2020/07/22/new-xml-sitemaps-functionality-in-wordpress-5-5/), at the address /wp-sitemap.xml.

## Find yours

Try yourdomain.no/sitemap.xml in your browser. If nothing comes up, open yourdomain.no/robots.txt and look for a line starting with "Sitemap:". Once you have the address, add it under Sitemaps in [Google Search Console](/en/glossary/google-search-console) if you have access. If you do not, send the address to whoever runs your website and ask them to do it.