Submit Your WordPress Website to Google – SEO Optimization | SEO Expert

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To submit your WordPress website to Google, you need to use Google Search Console to verify your site ownership and submit your XML sitemap.

Step 1: Ensure Your WordPress Site is Visible

Before submitting your site, make sure Google is allowed to crawl it:

  • In your WordPress dashboard, go to Settings > Reading.
  • Scroll to the “Search engine visibility” option.
  • Ensure the box next to “Discourage search engines from indexing this site” is unchecked.
  • Click “Save Changes”.

Step 2: Set up Google Search Console

Google Search Console is a free tool by Google that helps you monitor and manage your site’s presence in search results.

  • Go to the Google Search Console website and sign in with your Google account.
  • Click on “Start now” and then “Add property” in the top-left menu.
  • In the prompt, choose the “URL prefix” option for flexibility and simpler verification methods.
  • Enter your full website URL (e.g., https://www.yourwebsite.com) and click “Continue”.

Step 3: Verify Ownership of Your Website

Google requires you to prove you own the website. The HTML tag method using an SEO plugin is the easiest for WordPress users.

  • In Google Search Console, on the ownership verification page, select the “HTML tag” method under the “Alternate methods” tab.
  • Copy the meta tag provided by Google.
  • In your WordPress dashboard, install and activate a popular SEO plugin like Yoast SEO or Rank Math.
  • Navigate to the plugin’s settings (e.g., for Yoast SEO: SEO > General > Webmaster Tools).
  • Paste the Google verification code into the designated field.
  • “Save Changes” in your WordPress plugin settings.
  • Go back to the Google Search Console verification page and click “Verify”.

 

Step 4: Generate and Submit Your XML Sitemap

An XML sitemap acts as a roadmap, guiding Google’s crawlers to all the pages and content on your site, which speeds up the indexing process.

  • Most modern SEO plugins like Yoast SEO or Rank Math automatically generate a sitemap for you. You can usually find the URL at ://yoursite.com or yoursite.com/wp-sitemap.xml.
  • In Google Search Console, navigate to the “Sitemaps” section in the left sidebar.
  • In the “Add a new sitemap” field, enter the last part of your sitemap URL (e.g., sitemap_index.xml).
  • Click “Submit”.

Google will begin processing your sitemap, and the status will be displayed in the Sitemaps report. Initial processing may take some time (anywhere from a few hours to a couple of weeks), but your site will eventually be crawled and indexed.