The XML sitemap for most websites lives at the root domain followed by /sitemap.xml (for example, ottawaseo.com/sitemap.xml). If your site has multiple sitemaps segmented by content type, you'll often find a sitemap index file at /sitemap_index.xml that links to individual sitemaps like /post-sitemap.xml or /page-sitemap.xml. WordPress sites using Yoast SEO, Rank Math, or similar plugins automatically generate sitemaps at yourdomain.com/sitemap_index.xml. Shopify stores typically use /sitemap.xml which breaks into product, collection, and page sitemaps. Wix and Squarespace handle this automatically, but the URL follows the same /sitemap.xml pattern. Custom-built sites require manual sitemap creation or a script that generates one dynamically. To confirm your sitemap location, check three places in order. First, open yourdomain.com/robots.txt in a browser and look for a Sitemap: directive that explicitly lists the URL. Second, log into Google Search Console, navigate to Sitemaps under Indexing, and see what URLs you've previously submitted or what Google has discovered. Third, try the common paths directly: /sitemap.xml, /sitemap_index.xml, or /sitemap1.xml. At Ottawa SEO, we see sites with sitemaps buried in subdirectories like /sitemaps/sitemap.xml or named unconventionally like /feed-sitemap.xml, especially on older custom builds. If you manage a 50+ page site and can't locate a sitemap, generate one immediately using a plugin, a tool like Screaming Frog, or a developer script. Google can crawl without it, but sitemaps speed up discovery for new pages and help you monitor indexation issues in Search Console. One gotcha: dynamic sites sometimes serve sitemaps only when crawlers request them, returning 404 for regular browsers. Test with a user-agent switcher or curl if the URL returns an error but you suspect it exists. Always submit your sitemap URL to Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools once you've confirmed the location.