Search engines¶

Set your site up with search engines and submit your XML sitemap to improve discoverability.

Install and Enable Simple XML Sitemap Module¶

Status: ✅ Completed by default
What's this about? Drupal CMS automatically installs Simple XML Sitemap module when you install SEO Tools. The Simple XML Sitemap module creates an XML sitemap to help search engines readily find and index your site's content.
Recommended for: All Drupal CMS sites
Terms to know:
XML Sitemap: A structured list of URLs formatted in XML that allows search engines to easily crawl and index your website content.
Next steps:
Use the provided Configure permissions link to ensure the appropriate user roles have permission to perform tasks related to the sitemap.

Status: Not completed by default
What's this about? Configure your sitemap's settings and what types of content will appear in your site's XML sitemap.
Recommended for: All Drupal CMS sites
Next steps:
Use the provided Configure link to view and modify XML Sitemap' settings or go to Configuration > Search and metadata > Simple XML Sitemap > Settings (admin/config/search/simplesitemap/settings).
Within Simple XML Sitemap's configuration pages, use the Inclusion tab to modify which entity types are included in the sitemap (admin/config/search/simplesitemap/entities).

Status: ✅ Completed by the SEO Tools add-on
What's this about? You want to make sure your site's XML sitemap URL is included in the robots.txt file to assist search engines in locating your sitemap quickly.
Recommended for: All Drupal CMS websites
Next steps:
Access your site's robots.txt file within Drupal CMS. Go to Configuration > Search and metadata > RobotsTxt (/admin/config/search/robotstxt). Scroll through the contents and verify the line Sitemap: /sitemap.xml exists.

Status: By default, Cron is set up to run every 3 hours.
What's this about? Cron takes care of running periodic tasks like checking for system updates and updating the internal search index with new content. By default, Simple XML Sitemap is configured to update sitemap generation on every cron run.
Recommended for: All Drupal CMS sites.
Next steps:
Verify that cron is set up to run on a schedule that makes sense given how often new content is published.

Status: Not completed by default
What's this about? A Google Account (Gmail or Workspace) will give you access to all Google services including Google Tag Manager, Google Analytics, and Search Console. A Google Tag Manager Container ID is required when installing the Google Analytics recommended add-on, which includes Google Tag Manager module. See Introduction to tags and analytics in Drupal CMS for more information.
Recommended for: All Drupal CMS websites
Next steps:
Refer to the Set up Google Analytics in Drupal CMS documentation.

Status: Not completed by default
What's this about? When you install the Google Analytics add-on, you will need your Google Tag Manager Container ID to complete installation.
Recommended for: Sites using Google Tag Manager module. In Drupal CMS, this module is installed by the Google Analytics recommended add-on.
Next steps:
Refer to the Set up Google Analytics in Drupal CMS documentation.
Use the provided Configure permissions link to ensure that only trusted roles have permission to administer Google Tag containers.

Status: Partially completed upon installation of Google Analytics add-on.
What's this about? Complete configuration to set up Tag Settings for your site.
Recommended for: Sites using Google Tag Manager. In Drupal CMS, this module is installed by the Google Analytics recommended add-on.
Next steps:
When you installed the Google Analytics add-on, you should have entered your Google Tag Manager ID which will be used to configure the module. See: Set up Google Analytics in Drupal CMS.
If you need to add or change your Google Tag Manager ID, or customize settings for Google Tag Manager module, go to Configuration > Web services > Google Tag (admin/config/services/google-tag).

Status: May already be completed via a sitemap entry in robots.txt.
What's this about? Google can find your site's sitemap.xml file in several ways including using Google's Search Console, Search Console API, or a Sitemap entry in your site's robots.txt file. You may have already verified that there is a sitemap entry in robots.txt.
Next steps:
See the previous step, "Verify XML Sitemap in robots.txt". If there is a sitemap entry, Google will likely find it.
See Google's documentation for more information and options about submitting your sitemap to Google (developers.google.com).

Status: Not completed by default
What's this about? A Microsoft account will give you access to Bing's Webmaster Tools. Note: You can sign in to Microsoft Bing's Webmaster Tools with a Microsoft, Google, or Facebook account.
Next steps:
Go to Microsoft Bing's Webmaster Tools and press the Sign In button. Choose a method to sign in. If you choose Microsoft and you don't already have an account, use the provided link to create a new account.

Status: Not completed by default
What's this about? You can use Microsoft Bing's Webmaster Tools to authenticate ownership of your site with Bing. By authenticating site ownership with Bing, you'll be able to use Bing's Webmaster Tools and gain insight into how your site is performing in Bing.
Next steps:
Go to Microsoft Bing's Webmaster Tools and press the Sign In button. Choose a method to sign in. If you choose Microsoft and you don't already have an account, use the provided link to create a new account.
Follow Microsoft Bing's documentation on adding a site to Bing Webmaster Tools.

Status: May already be completed via a sitemap entry in robots.txt.
What's this about? Bing can find your site's sitemap.xml file in several ways including submitting your XML sitemap with the Sitemaps tool or a Sitemap entry in your site's robots.txt file. You may have already verified that there is a sitemap entry in robots.txt.
Next steps:
See the previous step, Verify XML Sitemap in robots.txt. If there is a sitemap entry, Bing will likely find it.
See Microsoft Bing's documentation on Sitemaps for more information about submitting a sitemap to Bing.