WordPress
How to get your WordPress site indexed by Google
WordPress has a sitemap built in — the classic blocker is one checkbox.
https://yourdomain.com/wp-sitemap.xml (or /sitemap_index.xml with an SEO plugin)
Since version 5.5, WordPress ships a core sitemap at /wp-sitemap.xml, and SEO plugins like Yoast or Rank Math replace it with their own at /sitemap_index.xml. So a sitemap almost always exists. The single most common WordPress indexing disaster is the "Discourage search engines" setting left on after launch.
Check the one setting that hides everything
Settings → Reading → "Discourage search engines from indexing this site" adds a site-wide noindex. It's meant for sites under development and is the number-one reason a freshly launched WordPress site won't index. Make sure it's unchecked in production.
Where your sitemap lives
- Core WordPress (no SEO plugin): /wp-sitemap.xml
- Yoast SEO: /sitemap_index.xml
- Rank Math: /sitemap_index.xml
- Submit whichever applies in Google Search Console.
WordPress-specific gotchas
- SEO plugins noindex certain archives by default (author, date, tag, or attachment pages). That's usually fine — but confirm they aren't noindexing content you want ranked.
- Per-post: Yoast/Rank Math have an "Allow search engines to show this post?" advanced setting — make sure it's set to index for important posts.
- Caching/CDN plugins can serve a stale page; after fixing a noindex, purge the cache so Google fetches the corrected HTML.
- Staging plugins sometimes carry the noindex (or a different robots.txt) into production on migration.
Step by step
- Uncheck Settings → Reading → "Discourage search engines from indexing this site".
- Find your sitemap (/wp-sitemap.xml or /sitemap_index.xml) and submit it in Google Search Console.
- For a post that won't index, check the SEO plugin's per-post index setting and purge any cache.
- Push the URL through the Indexing API to request an immediate crawl.
Point IndexerNow at your sitemap, then push new and updated URLs through Google's Indexing API and IndexNow on your own account and quota — no plugin, no code.
Connect your Search Console and indexFrequently asked
Where is the WordPress sitemap?
Core WordPress serves one at /wp-sitemap.xml. If you use Yoast or Rank Math, it's at /sitemap_index.xml instead. Submit whichever your site uses in Google Search Console.
Why is my whole WordPress site not indexed?
Almost always the "Discourage search engines from indexing this site" checkbox under Settings → Reading is on — it adds a site-wide noindex. Uncheck it, purge caches, and resubmit your sitemap.
Do I need an SEO plugin to be indexed?
No. Core WordPress generates a sitemap and pages are indexable without a plugin. Plugins like Yoast or Rank Math add finer control over titles, meta, and per-page noindex — useful, but not required for basic indexing.