Listing Sitemaps in Search Console

Is it more effective to submit our separate sitemaps individually to Google, or is it fine the way they are currently grouped together in our Search Console account? We haven't encountered any problems with the current setup, but we are curious if there may be a more efficient or effective way to manage our sitemaps. Thank you!

It’s generally more effective to submit your sitemaps individually to Google Search Console.

While there’s no definitive proof that grouping sitemaps together hinders crawling or indexing, several points support the individual submission approach:

  • Clearer Data Organization: Separating sitemaps allows for a more organized view of your website’s structure within Search Console. It makes it easier to identify and troubleshoot issues with specific sections of your website.
  • Improved Reporting and Analysis: With individual sitemaps, you get separate reports on their indexing status, errors, and crawl statistics. This granular data helps you understand the performance of each section of your site more accurately.
  • Easier Management: Individually submitting sitemaps simplifies the process of updating or removing them when needed. You can easily focus on specific parts of your website for changes without affecting others.

Ultimately, the best approach depends on your website’s size and complexity. If you have a small website with a few sitemaps, the current grouping method may be sufficient. However, for larger websites with numerous sitemaps, individual submission offers a clearer, more manageable, and potentially more efficient approach.