How to add a WordPress site to Google: check it's ready, then submit it in Search Console
To add a WordPress site to Google, first make sure you aren't blocking crawlers: turn off the request not to index the site in the reading settings, remove unnecessary noindex tags and check the sitemap. Then add the site in Google Search Console, confirm that it's yours and submit the sitemap address. Google does the rest by itself.
Author: The TellMyShop team. A guide for WordPress site and WooCommerce store owners: the cause, the manual fix and the same work in a chat conversation.
Last updated: · 6 min read
Before you submit: a readiness checklist
The most common reason a new site takes a long time to appear in Google is a block left over from the build. The developer turns it on so the crawler doesn't index a half-finished site, and then nobody turns it off. So submitting starts with checking whether the site is ready.
| What to check | Where in WordPress | What it should be |
|---|---|---|
| Search engine visibility | Settings, Reading | “Discourage search engines from indexing this site” unticked |
| Noindex on pages and posts | the SEO plugin panel in the editor, advanced tab | important pages are allowed to be indexed |
| Sitemap | the address /wp-sitemap.xml or /sitemap_index.xml | it opens and lists your pages |
| robots.txt file | the address /robots.txt | no line blocking the whole site |
| Site address | Settings, General | the right domain, https, no test address |
| Titles and descriptions | the SEO plugin | every important page has its own title |
| Content | pages and posts | no “under construction” pages or sample text |
The templ.io guide explains how the visibility option itself works, and that it is a request, not a lock. If the site doesn't have titles for Google yet, see the guide to the WordPress meta title.
The sitemap: which one to submit
A sitemap is a list of URLs you give Google, so it doesn't have to find everything through links. WordPress has its own, but SEO plugins replace it.
- Without an SEO plugin: the sitemap is at /wp-sitemap.xml.
- Yoast SEO: the sitemap is usually at /sitemap_index.xml and is split into sitemaps for posts, pages and categories.
- Rank Math: also /sitemap_index.xml. In the sitemap settings you choose which content types go into it. The guide to configuring sitemaps in Rank Math describes this.
Open the sitemap in a browser and glance through the list. It shouldn't contain pages you don't want in Google, such as the basket, test pages or tags with a single post. Google's guide on building and submitting a sitemap describes how Google treats sitemaps and which formats it accepts.
How to add your site to Google Search Console, step by step
Search Console is a free Google tool. You set it up once, and from then on it tells you which pages are in the index and why others aren't.
- Go to Google Search Console and sign in with the Google account you use for your business.
- Add a property. Choose “Domain” if you can add a DNS record with your host, or “URL prefix” if you'd rather verify through the site. The prefix must match the site address exactly, with https and with or without www.
- Verify that the site is yours. For a domain, you paste a DNS record in your domain panel. For a prefix, the simplest way is to copy the verification code into your SEO plugin settings; Yoast SEO and Rank Math have a field for it.
- Submit the sitemap. In the Sitemaps menu, enter the end of the sitemap address, for example sitemap_index.xml, and click Submit.
- Check the home page. Enter its URL in the inspection bar at the top. The URL Inspection tool shows whether Google can fetch it and lets you request indexing.
- Come back in a few days. In the pages report you'll see which URLs are in the index, and the reason for the rest.
Requesting indexing is useful for a few of your most important URLs. For the whole site, the sitemap works better, because Google visits it on its own.
How the chat checks readiness before you submit
Before submitting, it's worth going through the whole list at once rather than page by page. The TellMyShop plugin for WordPress and WooCommerce connects your chat (Claude or ChatGPT) to the site. In the free TellMyShop Free version, the chat reviews Site Health, does an SEO review of all your content and opens selected pages the way Google sees them: with the response code, title, noindex and canonical. At the end you get a list of things to fix before submitting.
You: We've finished the new site. I want to add it to Google. Check whether it's ready.
Your chat: Two things are blocking indexing. In the reading settings, the request not to index the site is turned on. The Services and Contact pages have noindex set in Yoast SEO.
Your chat: To fix before submitting: 4 pages without their own title for Google, and a “Sample Page” with the default text. The sitemap works at /sitemap_index.xml.
You: Fix the noindex on those two pages.
Your chat: Preview of the change in Yoast SEO:
I'll save it after your ‘yes’. Untick the reading settings option yourself, or turn on the Theme switch for a moment and I'll prepare that too.
Card status: waiting for your “yes”Services
old version: noindex
new version: index
Contact
old version: noindex
new version: index
The values in this conversation are examples. In TellMyShop Pro the chat changes noindex, titles and descriptions as soon as the licence is activated, always with a preview and after your agreement. In Pro, the reading settings belong to the Theme switch, which lasts 24 hours and needs a database backup from today. The chat can insert the Search Console verification code once the Service switch is on, but the Search Console account and submitting the sitemap are your part of the job. You can undo most changes from the history.
You'll find the free version download on the TellMyShop Free page, and what the Pro version can do for WordPress on the TellMyShop for WordPress and WooCommerce page.
After submitting: what to watch in the first weeks
Submitting is just the start. In the first few weeks, look at Search Console once a week and check three things: whether the number of indexed pages is growing, whether the sitemap shows a success status, and whether the pages report shows reasons like “Excluded by ‘noindex’ tag” or “Not found (404)”.
If an important page is still missing from the results after a few weeks, that is a different problem from submitting. We describe the causes, most common first, in the post WordPress site not showing in Google. For more on what to do next to make the site more visible, read the guide to the WordPress SEO audit. More posts are on the blog.
Questions and answers
Do I have to submit my site to Google for it to appear?
No. Google finds pages mainly through links from other pages. But adding the site in Search Console and submitting a sitemap speeds up the crawler's first visits and gives you reports showing what Google sees and what it doesn't.
Where is the sitemap in WordPress?
Since version 5.5, WordPress creates a sitemap itself at wp-sitemap.xml. If you have Yoast SEO or Rank Math, the plugin replaces it with its own, usually at sitemap_index.xml. In Search Console you submit whichever one works on your site.
How long does it take for a site to appear in Google?
There is no single answer. Usually from a few days to a few weeks, and Google doesn't guarantee it will index every page. It goes faster when the site is technically ready, has a sitemap and has links from elsewhere on the web.
I submitted the site and it still isn't in Google. What should I check?
First the search engine visibility option in the reading settings, and the noindex tag on pages. Then the pages report in Search Console, which gives the reason a URL isn't indexed. If the site has been live for a while, go to the list of causes in a separate guide.
Will the TellMyShop plugin submit my site to Google for me?
No. You set up the Search Console account and submit the sitemap yourself, because it is your Google account. Before you submit, the chat checks whether the site is ready, and in TellMyShop Pro it fixes whatever blocks indexing, after your agreement.
WordPress is a trademark of the WordPress Foundation. WooCommerce is a trademark of Automattic Inc. Claude is a trademark of Anthropic PBC. ChatGPT and OpenAI are trademarks of OpenAI. TellMyShop is not affiliated with these companies.