Most websites store their XML sitemap at the root domain followed by /sitemap.xml, so start by visiting yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml in your browser. If that returns a 404, check yourdomain.com/robots.txt—many sites declare their sitemap location there with a line like "Sitemap: https://yourdomain.com/sitemap_index.xml". WordPress sites using Yoast SEO or Rank Math typically auto-generate sitemaps at /sitemap_index.xml or /sitemap.xml. Shopify creates them at /sitemap.xml automatically. Wix and Squarespace also generate sitemaps by default, though the URL format varies slightly. If no sitemap exists, you need to create one. WordPress users should install Yoast SEO, Rank Math, or XML Sitemaps—these plugins generate and update sitemaps automatically as you publish content. For custom-built sites, use tools like Screaming Frog SEO Spider (crawls up to 500 URLs free), XML-sitemaps.com (free for up to 500 pages), or Sitebulb for larger sites. Export the sitemap file, upload it to your root directory via FTP or your hosting control panel, then add the sitemap URL to your robots.txt file and submit it in Google Search Console under Sitemaps. At Ottawa SEO, we verify sitemap structure before submission—check that it's not bloated with low-value pages like tag archives or paginated URLs, confirm it includes only indexable pages (no noindex, no 404s, no redirects), and ensure the file size stays under 50MB uncompressed with fewer than 50,000 URLs per file. Large sites need sitemap index files splitting URLs across multiple sitemaps by content type or date. We also validate XML syntax using Search Console's URL inspection or a tool like XML Sitemap Validator to catch formatting errors that prevent Google from reading it. If you're managing a portfolio of sites, automate sitemap checks monthly. Broken sitemaps can quietly exclude hundreds of pages from indexing, especially after migrations or CMS updates. A sitemap isn't a ranking factor, but it speeds up discovery for new or deep pages that lack strong internal linking.