How do I submit my IDX XML sitemap to Google?
What is an IDX XML sitemap?
A sitemap is a valuable SEO tool that includes links to your website with information from your pages. This allows the SEO bots to crawl your website in an efficient manner. Done through Google Search Console (GSC), these bots help you monitor and optimize how Google crawls, indexes, and serves your website to users.
By using the GSC, you can send the sitemap as well as check indexing status, search queries, and crawl errors. Essentially, you can optimize the visibility of your website. To send your IDX Sitemap to Google Search Console, you need to be able to prove you're the website owner.
Why should I submit my IDX XML sitemap to Google?
A sitemap is a file where you provide information about the pages on your site and the relationships between them. It tells Google which pages need to be indexed.
Most realtors don’t submit their sitemap to Google. This means when users search for listings they're selling on Google, they either won’t appear, or won’t be on top.
By submitting your IDX Broker sitemap, you will have more links being sent to Google, meaning Google will know your pages and how to crawl them. That makes your website more visible to visitors when searching for listings on Google Search Results.
How do I submit my IDX XML sitemap to Google?
First, make sure your custom subdomain is set up (we can help you do this). Google will not allow you to submit anything for a domain you do not own. This ensures the views for your IDX Broker pages are credited to your website only.
Then, once you have verified your subdomain on the IDX Broker dashboard, you can log in to your Google Search Console.
Next, go ahead and navigate to Design > Website > Page Templates. Click on 'Link' next to your XML Sitemap to find your sitemap link.
After logging into your Google Search Console, copy only the path for the XML link from your IDX account. The end of the URL should look something like this: idx/sitemap/xml/91889b497d (you can also see this client's IDX sitemap as an example).
Finally, paste that URL into the box in your GSC and click 'Submit'. Make sure to not submit your Sitemap multiple times. This will slow down and restart the process with each submission.
This is what a IDX Broker sitemap looks like:
In this case, the client has hundreds of saved links. That gives Google a lot more to index and share on the internet. They’re looking for original content. So, when Google sees that it’s different from what everyone else has, they’re more likely to index it.
If the only content on the page is a list of the same zip codes as every other agent in the same MLS, Google is less likely to index that.
Can RealtyCandy submit my IDX XML sitemap for me?
The client can also make us a "contributor" on their Website Console. This way, you maintain full control while allowing RealtyCandy to help submit the IDX sitemap.
*We don't do this as part of our standard IDX Connect service, but this may be offered on a bigger "SEO" package in the future. For now, it can be done as customization work.*
Do I need to create a new Google account, or can I use the one I have to submit my IDX XML Sitemap?
You can use any Google account as long as you can prove you’re the owner of the site from that email.
Still stuck?
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