Sitemap

What's inside a sitemap?

A sitemap is a file that lists your page URLs and the date each page was last changed, in a set XML format. The loc entry for the URL is required; the last-modified date (lastmod), change frequency (changefreq) and priority (priority) are optional.

Google says it ignores the change frequency and priority values, and only uses the last-modified date when it's consistently accurate. So it's best to have the date change only when something meaningful, like the page content or prices, actually changes.

Write URLs in full, like "https://yourbusiness.kr/menu," not shortened like "/menu." Save the file as UTF-8.

• loc: https://yourbusiness.kr/class → the URL of the page you want search engines to know about (required)
• lastmod: 2026-10-01 → the date of the last major content change (optional)
• changefreq and priority → you can include them, but Google doesn't use them (optional)

What's the difference between an XML sitemap and an HTML sitemap?

An XML sitemap is a file read by search robots, while an HTML sitemap is a "full menu" page for people. When people say "sitemap," they usually mean the XML sitemap.

Naver also accepts RSS feeds. However, since RSS includes the full text of posts, it's hard to fit many URLs in one, so Naver itself recommends relying on sitemaps whenever possible.

An HTML sitemap is useful for helping customers find their way on online stores with many pages or sites that showcase multiple locations. For a business with around ten pages, a well-organized top menu does the same job.

How do I submit a sitemap?

Enter the sitemap URL in the Sitemaps report in Google Search Console and in the sitemap submission menu in Naver Search Advisor. For both, you first need to register your site and verify ownership.

It's also a good idea to add one line at the very bottom of robots.txt: "Sitemap: https://yourbusiness.kr/sitemap.xml". Both Google and Naver pick up the sitemap location when they read robots.txt.

Submitting a sitemap doesn't mean every page gets indexed right away. Google's Sitemaps report shows the date Google last read your sitemap and any processing errors, so be sure to check the status at least once after submitting.

Naver says it treats submitted sitemaps and RSS as "content feeds" and revisits them regularly. So once you've submitted it, new posts can be announced simply by the sitemap updating.

1. 01Open "yourbusiness.kr/sitemap.xml" in a browser and check that you can see a list of URLs.
2. 02In Google Search Console, select your site and go to Sitemaps in the left menu.
3. 03Type sitemap.xml into the "Add a new sitemap" field and click Submit.
4. 04A few days later, check that the status says "Success" and that the number of discovered pages is close to the real count.
5. 05In Naver Search Advisor's webmaster tools, select your site, go to Submit sitemap under the Request menu and submit the same URL.
6. 06Also check that robots.txt has a line with your sitemap URL.

Which pages should go in a sitemap?

Only put in the main pages you want to appear in search. Submitting a sitemap is just a hint to search engines, so mixing in pages that shouldn't be there actually muddies the signal.

Search engines don't crawl every URL in a sitemap; they pick by their own criteria and crawl in order of priority. So the cleaner your list, the more likely your important pages get read first.

A Pilates studio that blogs often should list the URL of each individual post, not the post list page. List pages keep changing, so even if one shows up in search, customers have a hard time finding the post they want.

• Include: front page, menu and prices, pages for each service or class, location and booking info, blog posts
• Leave out: pages marked noindex, URLs that redirect to another address, deleted pages
• Leave out: admin panel, booking confirmation pages, on-site search results pages
• Leave out: URLs with the same content that only add a tag at the end, like "?ref="

Is there a size limit for sitemaps?

Yes. Under the sitemap standard and Google's rules, one file can hold up to 50,000 URLs and 50MB uncompressed. Naver says sitemaps over 10MB can't be submitted.

If you go over the limit, split the sitemap into several files and submit one sitemap index file that lists them. For a small business website with a few dozen pages, you'll hardly ever need to worry about the limit.

URLs in a sitemap must use the same domain and the same protocol as the sitemap file. Don't mix "http://" or other domains into the sitemap for "https://yourbusiness.kr."

What are common sitemap mistakes?

The most common mistake is a sitemap that's out of sync with the actual website. If you delete pages or change URLs but the sitemap stays the same, search engines keep visiting pages that no longer exist.

When you hire a web agency, ask whether the sitemap updates automatically and whose account it will be submitted from. The submission history needs to stay in your own account so management can continue even if you change agencies.

If you change your sitemap URL, resubmit the new URL to Search Console and Search Advisor and remove the old one from the list. This is especially easy to miss when you move to a newly built website.

• A mix of URLs with and without "www," or with "http" and "https"
• Preview or test URLs included in the sitemap
• Every page's last-modified date changing to today's date every day
• Shortened URLs like "/menu"
• Leaving a "Couldn't fetch" status unchecked after submitting