How to Add a Sitemap to Your WordPress Site Using Yoast SEO Plugin

What is a sitemap?

A sitemap is a list of website pages that have been indexed by search engines. A sitemap is helpful because it gives pages a higher ranking than they would have without one. A sitemap also ensures that search engines do not miss any pages.

It is efficient and effective because it gives pages a higher ranking than they would have without one, making it more likely that the page will be found by a searcher. Sitemaps are created using software like Yoast SEO, and they can help to improve the visibility of your website on the internet. If you want your site to appear in the first results of a search, make sure to use WordPress’s built-in sitemap feature, as well as other SEO best practices.

What is Yoast SEO Plugin?

The Yoast SEO plugin is a popular and well-used WordPress SEO plugin. It allows you to optimize your WordPress site for better search engine visibility. The Yoast XML Sitemap feature can create some problems for your WordPress site. You can fix the issues by following the instructions provided in this article.

How to add a sitemap using Yoast SEO Plugin

Step 1: Install Yoast SEO Plugin

To install Yoast SEO Plugin, click on the “Install Yoast SEO” button. Once installed, you will be redirected to the plugin’s settings page. Here, you can add or exclude content from your sitemap.

The Yoast SEO Plugin allows you to edit your sitemap within the plugin’s settings panel.

Step 2: Configure Yoast SEO Plugin

To configure Yoast SEO Plugin and add a sitemap to your WordPress site, first enable the plugin in your Yoast settings panel and then navigate to Search Appearance.

The default XML sitemap generated by the plugin may not be suitable for your site, so you can edit it to include or exclude content as desired.

To add a Yoast SEO sitemap, first enable the plugin in your Yoast settings panel and then navigate to Sitemaps.

The “See the XML Sitemap” checkbox will activate the generation of an XML sitemap that you can view in your WordPress admin area.

Step 3: Add Yoast SEO XML Sitemap to WordPress

To add a Yoast SEO XML Sitemap to your WordPress website, navigate to Search Appearance in Yoast SEO settings and review the content included.

To view the sitemap, toggle the XML sitemaps feature to “On” and click the “See the XML sitemap” link.

To add Yoast SEO XML Sitemap to WordPress, open the Yoast SEO Plugin and click on the “Add a Sitemap” button.

Enter the URL for your XML sitemap and click on the “Generate” button.

Your XML sitemap will be added to your WordPress site and you can view it in the “Sitemaps” tab of your WordPress site’s admin area.

Step 4: Verify Yoast SEO XML Sitemap in Google Search Console

To submit Yoast SEO XML Sitemap to Google, you need to have the URL of your newly customized sitemap and your site verified with Google Search Console.

To add Yoast SEO XML Sitemap to Google Search Console, first add your website to Search Console.

After adding your website to Search Console, you can add your sitemap. If Google finds any issues with the sitemap, they will notify you.

Bonus Step: Use Yoast SEO Sitemap Shortcode

If you have not enabled Yoast SEO Sitemap for your website, please follow these steps first and, if needed, customize your sitemap index for your website needs.

To add Yoast SEO Sitemap to your website, you will need to install the Yoast SEO plugin and turn on the Yoast SEO sitemap option. You can find this option in the “Sitemaps” tab of the Yoast SEO plugin. Once you have enabled the sitemap, you can add your site’s URLs using the “Yoast SEO Sitemap” shortcode.