Yoast SEO is a valuable resource for managing the SEO of your WordPress website. Its primary benefit is the automatic generation of XML sitemaps, essential for efficient crawling and indexing by search engines.
However, there may be times when you need to manually update your sitemap in Yoast, such as when you add new content or make significant changes to your site. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to do it.
Step 1: Log into Your WordPress Dashboard
Log in to your WordPress dashboard. You can usually do this by appending /wp-admin to the end of your site’s URL. Once you’re logged in, you’ll be able to access all of the administrative features.
Step 2: Go to the Yoast SEO Settings
From the left-hand menu on your dashboard, click on SEO, then General. This will take you to the main Yoast SEO settings.
Step 3: Access the Features Tab
Once you’re on the Yoast SEO settings page, click on the Features tab. Here, you’ll find a range of different features that Yoast SEO offers.
Step 4: Toggle the XML Sitemaps
Look for XML Sitemaps. If it’s currently set to ‘on’, click on the switch to turn it ‘off’, then click on it again to turn it back ‘on’. This essentially refreshes the sitemap.
Step 5: Save Your Changes
Click the Save changes button to ensure that your updates are stored. Your XML sitemap will now be updated with the latest changes to your website.
Checking Your Sitemap
Once you’ve updated your sitemap, you’ll want to check it to ensure that the changes have been made correctly. You can do this by adding /sitemap_index.xml to the end of your site’s URL. This will take you to your sitemap, where you can check the details of each page.
Remember, keeping your XML sitemap updated is crucial to ensuring that search engines can find and index your content efficiently.
It’s worth noting that while Yoast SEO automatically updates your XML sitemap whenever you add new content, it’s always a good idea to manually update it when you make significant changes to your site.
