In a previous article (Sitemaps and Google Webmaster — Like Milk and Cookies) I explained why it is important to register your Sitemap with Google. This article tells you how to create a Sitemap for your Wordpress site and register it with Google.

Sitemap Plugin Eases the Job

Google accepts Sitemaps in several formats, but it’s time consuming to create WordPress site by hand. Furthermore, you will neeed to update the map every time you add or delete an article. Here’s the good news — there are a number of excellent WordPress Plugins that do the job of creating Sitemaps for you.

I use a Plugin called “Sitemap Index” Version 1.2.2, by Twardes (http://torrentlist.pl/sitemap-index-plugin).  This Plugin generates sitemaps dynamically, meaning that the sitemap is regenerated every time the Sitemap file is accessed.

It couldn’t be easier to install and use.  In the Plugins section of the WordPress Admin console, click on “Add New”.  Search on “sitemap index” (quotes included), and the “Sitemap Index” should be included in the result list.

Under “actions” on the right side of the screen, click “install”. It’s that easy.

Get the URL of the Sitemap

Click on Plugins on the left side of the WordPress Admin screen, then click on Sitemap Index “settings” on the right side of the screen.

You should see something like the following screen shot. Copy the Sitemap address so you can paste it into Google Webmaster Tools.

Add the Site and Sitemap to Google Webmaster Tools

 If you don’t already have a Google Webmaster Account, go to http://www.google.com/webmasters and create one.

It is very important to register your site with Google, because Google is the most popular search engine.

1. Log into Webmaster Tools, and on the right-hand side of the screen click the “Add a Site” button.
2. Enter the name of your site and hit “enter”.
3. Now you should be in the Verification screen, which looks like the screenshot below. You’ll need to copy the verification “meta” tag from the Webmaster tool back to the header.php file on your site.

4. The header.php file is located in the same folder as your theme.
5. Using your favorite code editor, open header.php and look for a reasonable place to put the meta tag.