If you have just launched your brand-new Blogger site, configured your custom domain, and published your first set of helpful articles, you might wonder why your content is completely missing from Google Search. Pouring hours into writing only to see zero organic traffic is discouraging, but the cause is usually straightforward: Google does not know your pages exist yet.
To resolve this indexing barrier, you must submit an XML sitemap directly to Google Search Console (GSC). Think of a sitemap as an architectural directory or digital roadmap for your publication. It hands Googlebot an organized list of every post, static page, and media asset you publish, prompting search engine spiders to crawl and index your content efficiently. Without an active sitemap submission, search engines must discover your content through external backlinks, which can delay indexing for weeks.
In this technical walkthrough from BlogManual, you will learn the exact process to submit your Blogger sitemaps to Google Search Console, verify clean status reports, and resolve common submission glitches.
- What You Need Before Submitting
- Step 1: Access Google Search Console & Choose Your Property
- Step 2: Open the Sitemaps Report
- Step 3: Submit the Posts & Pages Sitemaps
- Step 4: Verify the "Success" Status Indicator
- Troubleshooting: What If It Says "Couldn't Fetch"?
- Next Steps for Technical Blogger SEO
What You Need Before Submitting
Before submitting sitemap files, verify that your administrative account and property setup are correctly configured to avoid verification errors:
- Same Primary Google Account: Ensure you are logged into the exact Google account used as the administrator of your Blogger publication. Mismatched Google accounts cause permission and property authorization errors.
- Active Search Console Property: Your custom domain (e.g.,
https://www.blogmanual.com) must already be added as a verified property in Google Search Console. (Tip: Because Blogger is natively integrated with Google, adding your domain through the Google account tied to Blogger typically auto-verifies domain ownership instantly.)
Step 1: Access Google Search Console & Choose Your Property
Google Search Console is the primary diagnostic platform where search crawlers report indexing health, search impressions, and Core Web Vitals performance directly to site owners.
- Navigate to the official Google Search Console platform.
- Click Start Now and log in with your primary Blogger administrative Google Account.
- In the upper-left corner of the dashboard, click the property dropdown selector. Ensure your canonical custom domain is actively selected (for example,
https://www.blogmanual.com). If you manage multiple sites, double-check that you are not viewing an older subdomain or alternative property.
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| Verify that your active custom domain is selected in the property dropdown menu before submitting sitemap files. |
Step 2: Open the Sitemaps Report
The Search Console navigation menu contains detailed analytical reports for performance, page experience, and security. To submit your sitemaps, focus directly on the crawling controls:
- In the left-hand navigation sidebar, locate the Indexing section.
- Click directly on Sitemaps to open the submission and tracking portal.
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| Navigate to Indexing > Sitemaps in the left menu to access the XML sitemap submission interface. |
Step 3: Submit the Posts & Pages Sitemaps
Unlike WordPress, which requires third-party plugins (such as Yoast or RankMath) to construct XML feeds, Blogger automatically creates and dynamically maintains your sitemaps on Google’s servers. Every time you publish, edit, or update a post, Blogger regenerates these feeds automatically.
To ensure thorough indexing, submit two separate feeds: one for your chronological blog posts, and one for your static standalone pages (such as your Contact, About, and Policy pages).
1. Submit the Primary Posts Sitemap
Under the "Add a new sitemap" input card, your domain prefix (e.g., https://www.blogmanual.com/) is pre-filled. You only need to type the filename extension:
- In the text field, type:
sitemap.xml - Click the blue Submit button.
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| Input "sitemap.xml" into the submission field and click Submit to index your published posts. |
2. Submit the Standalone Pages Sitemap
Standalone pages created under the Pages tab (such as About, Contact, Privacy Policy, Terms of Service, and your HTML Sitemap) are excluded from the chronological post feed. They require their own sitemap declaration:
- In the same "Add a new sitemap" field, type:
sitemap-pages.xml - Click Submit.
sitemap.xml and sitemap-pages.xml guarantees that Googlebot discovers your commercial posts as well as your E-E-A-T trust signals (legal policies and author profile pages).
Step 4: Verify the "Success" Status Indicator
Once submitted, Google adds your XML feeds to its crawling queue. Directly below the input box, the Submitted sitemaps table records the processing status and discovered URL count for each file.
Check the Status column for your submitted files:
- Success (Green): Google successfully fetched the XML file, parsed its schema without syntax errors, and queued the discovered URLs for indexing.
- Couldn't Fetch (Red): Search Console was unable to retrieve the sitemap immediately during initial processing.
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| A green "Success" badge confirms Google has received your XML sitemap and registered your discovered URLs. |
Troubleshooting: What If It Says "Couldn't Fetch"?
Seeing a red "Couldn't Fetch" status is common on newly connected domains. Before altering DNS or platform settings, work through these diagnostic checks:
- Perform a Hard Browser Refresh: Search Console's dashboard reporting often lags behind its backend processors. Refresh your browser (or press
Ctrl + F5on Windows /Cmd + Shift + Ron Mac) to bypass local cache. In many cases, the status updates to green on refresh. - Check for Typographical Errors: Verify the spelling of your submission. Common typos include adding a trailing slash (
sitemap.xml/), typing plural forms (sitemaps.xml), or leaving a leading whitespace. - Ensure at Least One Published Post Exists: Blogger generates empty XML nodes if your blog has no published articles. Ensure you have published at least one public live post before submitting.
- Verify Custom Domain & SSL: Ensure that your custom domain is connected properly without DNS errors by following our Domain Troubleshooting Guide, and ensure your SSL certificate is live using our Blogger HTTPS Guide.
- Allow 24 to 48 Hours for Crawl Queues: On newer websites, Googlebot schedules initial fetches based on server availability. If your records are correct, leave the report untouched for 24 to 48 hours; Google routinely re-attempts the fetch and updates the status automatically.
Next Steps for Technical Blogger SEO
Submitting your XML sitemaps establishes direct crawling communication between your publication and Google Search. However, sitemap indexing is only one pillar of technical SEO. To turn your site into a sustainable traffic asset, ensure your content structure, URL architecture, and speed benchmarks are fully aligned.
Helpful Resources for Blogger Publishers
Explore our foundational tools and tutorials to continue optimizing your site:
- Follow the Sequential Blueprint: Read our full setup guide at Start Here: Blogger Roadmap.
- Browse Verified Publishing Tools: Access vetted optimization tools and utilities on our Recommended Tools & Resources page.
- Search Domain Name Availability: Planning your next digital publication? Search untaken
.comaddresses with our free Domain Checker. - Direct Technical Help: Encountering an indexing roadblock? Reach out directly via our Contact Page.
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