Google's John Mueller clarified in a Reddit exchange that submitting a sitemap index in Google Search Console is sufficient for Google to discover linked sitemaps. He noted that sitemap uploads do not trigger immediate crawling and there is no fixed recrawl schedule. The discussion took place in r/TechSEO after a user asked whether to submit individual sitemaps and how long recrawls take.
Key Details
- Submitting the sitemap index file in Search Console is sufficient for Google to discover linked sitemaps.
- Submitting individual sitemap files is optional, not required.
- Uploading a sitemap does not guarantee immediate recrawling of all URLs.
- There is no fixed timeline for when Googlebot will recrawl submitted URLs.
- For specific pages, use the URL Inspection tool to request indexing.
Background
A sitemap index lists multiple sitemap files. Search Console can process a sitemap index to find and read those sitemaps, which you can submit and monitor in the Sitemaps report.
Google's documentation notes that sitemaps help with URL discovery but do not guarantee crawling or indexing. See the Sitemaps overview for details. When you need a specific page reviewed, the URL Inspection tool accepts indexing requests one at a time.
Sources
- John Mueller comment on r/TechSEO: Reddit
- Google Developers - Sitemaps overview: Documentation
- Google Search Console Help - Sitemaps report: Help Center
- Google Search Console Help - Inspect a URL: Help Center
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