What is an XML Sitemap?

A sitemap is a file that tells search engines like Google about all the pages on your enrollment site and how they connect to each other. Think of it as a roadmap that helps Google find and understand your content more efficiently.

Your sitemap provides valuable information about each page—when it was last updated, how often it changes, and any alternate language versions. This helps Google crawl your site more intelligently and get your enrollment pages into search results faster.

Do I Need an XML Sitemap?

According to Google, if your site's pages are properly linked, they can usually discover most of your content. But a sitemap can still improve how Google finds your pages, especially for larger or more complex sites.

You probably need a sitemap if:

  • Your enrollment site has many pages (more than 500)
  • You have content pages that aren't well linked together
  • Your site is new with few external links pointing to it
  • You have lots of images or videos you want to appear in search results
  • Some of your pages are isolated and don't naturally reference each other

You might not need a sitemap if:

  • Your site is small (under 500 pages)
  • Your site is comprehensively linked internally—Google can find everything by following links from your homepage
  • You don't have many media files you need indexed

Pro tip: Even if your site is small, having a sitemap won't hurt and can only help your search visibility. You'll never be penalized for having one.

Where to Find XML Sitemap Settings

Navigate to Sites in your main menu, then click the gear icon in the top right corner.

[SCREENSHOT: Sites section with gear icon highlighted in top right corner]

This takes you to the Domains section. You can also get here by going to Settings in your main navigation and selecting Domains from the left sidebar.

[SCREENSHOT: Settings menu with Domains option highlighted in left sidebar]

Once you're in the Domains section, you'll see a "Manage" button on the right side of any domain you've added. Click the three-dot icon next to your domain.

[SCREENSHOT: Domains page showing Manage button and three-dot menu for a domain]

Important: If you haven't added a domain yet, you'll need to do that first before you can create a sitemap.

After clicking the three-dot menu, you'll see the Connected Products page for that domain. Next to your enrollment site or landing page, click the three-dot icon again. One of the options is labeled XML Sitemap—that's what you need.

[SCREENSHOT: Connected Products page with three-dot menu expanded showing XML Sitemap option]

Understanding Your Sitemap Settings

When you click XML Sitemap, you'll see all enrollment sites and landing pages connected to that domain. Since you can connect multiple sites and pages to the same domain in Enrollio, be careful about which pages you include.

Only select pages you want Google to crawl and associate with that domain.

[SCREENSHOT: XML Sitemap configuration screen showing list of connected sites and pages]

Here's what you'll see on this screen:

  • Connected Sites and Pages: Your enrollment sites and landing pages are separated into light blue accordion sections
  • Site Names: The name of each site or page group appears in the accordion header
  • Checkbox: On the left side of each name—check this to include all pages from that site in your sitemap
  • Arrow Icon: On the right side—click to expand and see individual pages, so you can pick and choose which ones to include

Important note: Not adding a page to your sitemap doesn't guarantee Google won't find it. If other pages link to it, search engines may still crawl it. To truly block a page from search engines, you'll need to use additional methods beyond the sitemap.

How to Create or Update Your Sitemap

Step 1: Select Your Pages

Click the arrow icon on the right side of any enrollment site or landing page group to expand it and see all individual pages.

[SCREENSHOT: Expanded site group showing individual pages with checkboxes]

Check the boxes next to the pages you want included in your sitemap. You can select entire sites or pick individual pages—whatever makes sense for your enrollment site structure.

Since you can connect multiple sites and landing pages to the same domain, make sure you've selected everything you want before moving forward.

Step 2: Create Your Sitemap

Click the Proceed button at the bottom of the page list.

If this is your first sitemap for this domain, you'll see a message prompting you to create one. Click Add New to create your first sitemap.

[SCREENSHOT: Add New sitemap prompt dialog]

After selecting your pages, a popup will appear showing:

  • List of XML Sitemaps: All sitemaps created for this domain (if you have multiple)
  • Selected Pages: The pages you've chosen to include
  • Sitemap URL: The URL you'll submit to Google

[SCREENSHOT: Sitemap creation popup showing selected pages and sitemap URL]

Review your selections and click Save or Create to generate your sitemap.

How to Submit Your Sitemap to Google

Creating your sitemap in Enrollio is just the first step. Now you need to tell Google about it using Google Search Console.

Step 1: Open Google Search Console

Go to Google Search Console and sign in with your Google account.

Step 2: Add Your Property

If you haven't added your enrollment site to Search Console yet, click Add Property and enter your domain name.

[SCREENSHOT: Google Search Console Add Property screen]

Step 3: Verify Your Domain

Google will ask you to verify that you own this domain. Follow the verification method that works best for you (usually adding a DNS record or uploading a verification file).

[SCREENSHOT: Google Search Console domain verification options]

Step 4: Navigate to Sitemaps

Once verified, find Sitemaps in the left sidebar of Google Search Console.

[SCREENSHOT: Google Search Console sidebar with Sitemaps option highlighted]

Step 5: Submit Your Sitemap URL

In the "Add a new sitemap" field, enter your sitemap URL. This is the URL you saw in Enrollio when you created your sitemap—it typically looks like: yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml

Click Submit.

[SCREENSHOT: Google Search Console sitemap submission field with Submit button]

Google will start processing your sitemap. It may take a few hours or days for Google to fully crawl all the pages, but you're all set! You'll see the status update in Search Console as Google processes your pages.

Alternative Methods for Submitting Your Sitemap

While Google Search Console is the most reliable method, you can also submit your sitemap by:

  • Adding it to your robots.txt file: Add a line like Sitemap: https://yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml to your robots.txt file
  • Pinging Google directly: Visit http://www.google.com/ping?sitemap=https://yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml in your browser

However, using Search Console gives you the most visibility into how Google is crawling your site, so we recommend that method for your enrollment site.

Pro Tip: After submitting your sitemap, check back in Google Search Console after a week or two. You'll see reports on which pages were successfully indexed and if there are any errors preventing Google from crawling certain pages.