Use the address of your sitemap index if your site has one, which is often /sitemap_index.xml, or your single /sitemap.xml. If you are unsure, paste the bare domain. Link Signals reads robots.txt, then tries the common paths.
Pasting the index is better than pasting one child file, because Link Signals follows the index into every sitemap it lists.
What happens with each kind of address
| You paste | What Link Signals does |
|---|---|
An address ending .xml or .xml.gz | Uses it as it is. Compressed files are unpacked. |
| A sitemap index | Follows it into the sitemaps it lists, up to 200 files, and stops once it has enough pages for your plan. |
| A bare domain | Reads robots.txt for Sitemap: lines. If there are none, it tries /sitemap.xml, /sitemap_index.xml, /sitemap-index.xml and /wp-sitemap.xml, and uses the first that starts like a real sitemap. |
| Nothing it can find | Asks for the sitemap address itself. |
When a site has several sitemaps
If robots.txt lists several, the first 10 are used. If your sites are split by language or section, scan the index, or scan each section’s sitemap on its own. A blog on a subdomain, a separate shop or a regional site normally has its own sitemap, and each is tracked separately.
What is and is not read
- Only the page addresses in a sitemap are used. Image and video entries are not fetched as pages.
- A page missing from the sitemap is not scanned, including pages an SEO plugin leaves out. This matters when you are looking for injected content, which can sit outside the sitemap.
- An index can point at files on another domain. Link Signals reads what it lists, so check an entry that surprises you before trusting it.
- A site with no sitemap at all needs one first. Most platforms and SEO plugins can create it.
Do the dates in the sitemap matter?
A sitemap does not need lastmod dates. For a one-off scan they are used only when the sitemap is bigger than your plan reads, to pick the most recently changed pages for the sample. Monitoring uses them to decide which pages to read again. Without dates, monitoring still works: it simply reads pages on a fixed schedule instead of skipping the unchanged ones. You do not have to fix your dates to use it, although accurate dates give better coverage from the same allowance.
Check the count before you run
When the sitemap is loaded, Link Signals shows how many pages it found. A number far below your site usually means the wrong child file was pasted or pages are being excluded. A number above your plan’s limit means a sampled scan.
Where to read more
- How to find your sitemap URL: the usual path on WordPress, Shopify, Squarespace, Wix, Webflow and Ghost.
- Sitemap discovery: the full steps and what to try when discovery fails.
- What if my site is very large?: when the count is above your plan.
- The sitemaps.org protocol: the format itself, including index files and lastmod.
- Google on sitemaps: what a sitemap is for and how to build one.
Questions
Should I paste the www or non-www address?
Use the address your site actually serves. If it redirects, redirects are followed for a few hops, but pasting the final address is quicker.
My sitemap is a web page with a layout, not XML. Will it work?
No. An HTML page listing links is not a sitemap. Look for the XML file, which starts with a <urlset> or <sitemapindex> element.
Why does the page count look too low?
Usually the wrong child sitemap was pasted, or an SEO plugin excludes some content types, such as noindex pages. Paste the index address, or check the plugin’s settings.
Paste an address or a domain and see how many pages Link Signals will read.
