XML sitemaps
Short answer
A sitemap helps Google discover URLs, but does not guarantee crawling or indexing; well-linked sites may not need one. Each file is limited to 50 MB uncompressed or 50,000 URLs. Google ignores priority and changefreq, and uses lastmod only when it is consistently and verifiably accurate.
Do you need one?
Section titled “Do you need one?”Size limits
Section titled “Size limits”A file that suits Google’s 50MB limit can be too large for the Chinese engines. Files under 10MB and 10,000 URLs fit all of them.
Tags Google uses and ignores
Section titled “Tags Google uses and ignores”| Tag | |
|---|---|
<loc> | Required: the canonical URL |
<lastmod> | Used only when consistently accurate |
<priority> | Ignored |
<changefreq> | Ignored |
What to include
Section titled “What to include”- Only canonical, indexable URLs — no redirects,
noindexpages or duplicates (Canonical URL signals). - One
<lastmod>per URL that changes when the page meaningfully changes, not on every rebuild.
How this wiki does it
Section titled “How this wiki does it”The sitemap lists only published, indexable entries in both languages — no drafts, fallback pages or thin hubs. Each <lastmod> is the entry’s review date, the same date shown on the page and used as dateModified in its JSON-LD; there is no <priority> or <changefreq>.
Related
Section titled “Related”- XML sitemaps vs IndexNow — pull (sitemaps) versus push (IndexNow).