Indexing
How to submit your website to Google
Google normally discovers public pages through links, but Search Console gives you two direct discovery paths: submit a sitemap for many URLs and request indexing for an important individual URL.
Checked against Google Search Central · October 2026
Short answer
Add and verify the correct Search Console property. Submit your XML sitemap in Indexing → Sitemaps. For the homepage or another important page, inspect the complete URL, run a live test if needed and choose Request indexing.
Submission is a request, not a promise: Google does not guarantee indexing ↗ even when a page meets the technical requirements.
DISCOVERY WORKFLOW
Give Google clear paths to your pages
Verify property
Prove access to the correct site scope.
Submit sitemap
Send a maintained list of canonical URLs.
Inspect key URL
Test availability and request indexing.
Monitor outcome
Read Page indexing and URL Inspection.
Before submitting anything
A request cannot override a technical block or make an unsuitable page indexable.
Public access
The page must be available without login and return a successful HTTP status.
Googlebot allowed
robots.txt must not block the page or the resources needed to understand it.
Indexing allowed
Remove unintended noindex directives and confirm the canonical points to the preferred URL.
Useful internal links
Link important pages from crawlable navigation; a sitemap should not be the only discovery path.
Submit a site in four steps
Add the right Search Console property
Use a Domain property for all protocols and subdomains, or a URL-prefix property that exactly matches the live site. Verify ownership.
Publish an XML sitemap
Include canonical, indexable URLs and accurate lastmod values. Host it at a stable public URL, commonly /sitemap.xml.
Submit the sitemap
Open Indexing → Sitemaps, enter the sitemap URL and submit it. Search Console will show whether Google could fetch and process it.
Request indexing for priority pages
Enter the complete homepage or page URL in URL Inspection. If the live test is available and the page is indexable, choose Request indexing. Use a sitemap—not repeated requests—for many URLs.
Choose the right submission method
URL Inspection
Use after publishing or making a substantial change.
XML sitemap
Maintain lastmod and let Google schedule crawling.
Natural discovery + sitemap
Google can discover pages through links; a sitemap adds a monitorable signal.
Fix first
A submission request does not override access or indexing directives.
How to verify the result
Sitemap status
Confirm Success or investigate fetch and format errors in the Sitemaps report.
URL Inspection
Check discovery, last crawl, indexing allowed and Google-selected canonical.
Page indexing
Filter by the submitted sitemap and review reasons important URLs are not indexed.
Search check
A site: query is only a sample; prefer Search Console for the status of a specific URL.
Different phrases, the same workflow
Submit website to Google Search, submit URL to Google, submit your site to Google and submit my site to Google all describe discovery and indexing requests. Use a sitemap for the site and URL Inspection for selected pages.