Difficulty: Moderately Easy
Things You’ll Need:
- Internet
- Your own website
- FTP program access
Step1
Create your XML sitemap file. Some web development programs such as XSitePro will build the Google XML sitemap file for you. If you are not using such a program, you can build an XML file online for free (see Resources).
Step2
Fill in and submit the short form. Enter your website name. Set the “Change frequency” option to how often you update your website. Click on the “Start” button.
Step3
Create an XML Sitemap Online to Submit to Google
The next screen will ask you to please wait, then your results will come up on the top of the screen saying that the “Generated sitemap is ready.” Beneath that, it states that there are 2 steps left.
Step4
Download the sitemap file that you just created online to your computer by clicking on the “Download the sitemap file here” link.
Step5
Upload the sitemap file to the “public_html/” folder of your website using FTP software (such as CuteFTP) or through your web file manager tools online through your web hosting company.
Step6
Go to your Google Webmaster account (see Resources) and login to add your sitemap URL. If you don’t have one, you must create a new account.
Step7
Add your website the Dashboard in Google Webmaster tools, by entering your website address and clicking on the “Add Site” button.
Step8
The next screen asks you to click on the link to verify your site. Then you can choose from two different ways to verify your site through the drop-down menu. You can either add a meta tag to your homepage or you can upload a page to your website.
Step9
Follow the directions on the screen according to the verification method you choose.
Step10
When finished, go back to your Dashboard within Google Webmaster Tools to verify the site by clicking on the “Verify” button. The Google robots will check that you performed Step 9 correctly. You can check that it worked within your Dashboard.