Indexing, Sitemaps & Link Behavior
Configure XML and HTML sitemaps, submit them to Google and Bing, and control external links, URL structure, and breadcrumb navigation — all from one place in SEO Rank Genius.
Before you start
The Indexing & Sitemaps area controls how search engines discover your content and how outbound links behave on the front end. It is available on all SEO Rank Genius plans.
You’ll need:
- WordPress Administrator access
- Pretty permalinks enabled (Settings → Permalinks — anything except “Plain”)
- Google Search Console connected (recommended for one-click sitemap submission — see our SEO Advisor guide)
If you’re setting up the plugin for the first time, complete the Setup Wizard before fine-tuning sitemaps.
Open Indexing & Sitemaps
From your WordPress dashboard:
SEO Rank Genius → Indexing & Sitemaps
The page uses a left sidebar grouped into sections:
Overview tab
The Overview tab is your command center. It shows live stats and quick actions without diving into individual settings.
Regenerate after content changes
Click Regenerate in the header after publishing new pages, bulk imports, or taxonomy changes. Sitemaps update automatically on a schedule, but manual regeneration gives immediate results.
Check submission status
The submission chip turns green once your sitemap has been successfully pinged or submitted via the GSC API. If it shows amber “Pending”, open the Submission & Sync tab to submit manually.
XML Sitemap
The XML Sitemap tab controls the machine-readable sitemap search engines crawl. Your live sitemap is typically at yoursite.com/sitemap.xml (or /sitemap_index.xml when the sitemap index is enabled).
Sitemap structure
- Enable XML Sitemap — master toggle. Leave on unless another plugin handles XML sitemaps exclusively.
- Sitemap Index — splits URLs into multiple sub-sitemaps (recommended for sites with 200+ URLs).
- Links per Sitemap — max URLs per file (200–1000 is typical; Google allows up to 50,000).
Content types & priorities
Choose which post types and taxonomies appear in the sitemap. Posts and pages are included by default with sensible priority and change-frequency values. Custom post types appear in the table when registered as public.
Exclude from sitemap
Use the exclusion grid to omit specific custom post types or attachments. Enable Exclude Page Builder Templates to automatically skip internal Elementor, Divi, Beaver Builder, Bricks, Oxygen, and similar template CPTs.
Use Preview to inspect the generated XML before submitting, or View Live to open the public sitemap in a new tab. Click Save after changing any setting.
HTML Sitemap
An HTML sitemap is a human-readable page listing your site structure — useful for visitors and as an internal linking hub. It complements (does not replace) your XML sitemap.
- Enable HTML Sitemap — creates a public page at your chosen slug (default: yoursite.com/sitemap/).
- Slug — customize the URL path (e.g. site-map or all-pages).
- Display mode — choose a flat list or grouped by post type.
- Include / exclude — mirror your XML settings or customize which types appear on the HTML page.
Submission & Sync
This tab under Sync & Advanced handles getting your sitemap in front of search engines.
Confirm GSC connection
A green banner means Google Search Console is connected. If not, click Connect GSC or go to SEO Rank Genius → Tools & Analytics → Search Console.
Submit to Google
With GSC connected, click Submit All Sitemaps to GSC. SEO Rank Genius submits your sitemap index and all sub-sitemaps via the Search Console API — faster and more reliable than manual copy-paste.
Ping Bing & IndexNow
Use Submit to Bing to ping Bing’s sitemap endpoint. Enable IndexNow for instant URL notifications when you publish or update content — supported by Bing, Yandex, and other IndexNow partners.
Link Behavior
The Link Behavior tab controls outbound links and URL hygiene. All link attribute changes are applied dynamically at render time — your post content in the database is never rewritten.
External link control
Enter affiliate prefixes one per line (e.g. /go/, /recommends/) so sponsored links are marked correctly for Google.
Click Save Settings in the tab header when done. Use Reset to Defaults to restore out-of-the-box values.
Breadcrumbs & URLs
The lower sections of Link Behavior cover URL structure and breadcrumb navigation.
URL structure
- Strip Category Base — removes /category/ from category archive URLs for cleaner paths.
- Redirect Attachment Pages — 301-redirects media attachment pages to their parent post (prevents thin duplicate content).
- Orphan Attachment Redirect — fallback URL when an attachment has no parent (defaults to homepage if empty).
Breadcrumbs
Enable breadcrumbs to output a navigation trail plus BreadcrumbList JSON-LD schema on every page.
- Auto-inject into Theme Header — outputs breadcrumbs via wp_body_open with no theme code required.
- Separator, home label, prefix — customize appearance; the live preview updates as you type.
- Show categories / blog page / hide title — fine-tune which items appear in the trail.
Troubleshooting
Sitemap returns 404
Confirm XML Sitemap is enabled, permalinks are not set to “Plain”, and no other plugin claims the same sitemap URL. Visit Settings → Permalinks → Save, then click Regenerate on the Overview tab.
Submission button disabled
Connect Google Search Console first under Tools & Analytics → Search Console. The property URL must match your WordPress site address (www vs non-www).
Category URLs broken after strip base
Flush permalinks (Settings → Permalinks → Save). If issues persist, temporarily disable “Strip Category Base”, save, flush again, then re-enable.
Link attributes not appearing
Link Behavior applies on front-end render only — check the live page source, not the block editor preview. Clear any full-page cache after saving settings.
Breadcrumbs show twice
Your theme may already output breadcrumbs. Disable Auto-inject into Theme Header in Link Behavior, or remove the theme’s breadcrumb function.