How to Submit Your Sitemap to Bing Webmaster Tools

By Emily Redmond, Data Analyst at Emilytics · April 2026

TL;DR: Go to Sitemaps in Bing Webmaster Tools, click "Submit a sitemap," paste your sitemap URL, and click Submit. Bing crawls it within 24–48 hours.

What Is a Sitemap and Why Does Bing Need It?

A sitemap is an XML file that lists all the pages on your website. It tells search engines: "Here are all the URLs you should know about. Please crawl them."

A sitemap looks like this:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<urlset xmlns="http://www.sitemaps.org/schemas/sitemap/0.9">
  <url>
    <loc>https://example.com/page-1</loc>
    <lastmod>2026-04-18</lastmod>
    <changefreq>weekly</changefreq>
    <priority>0.8</priority>
  </url>
  <url>
    <loc>https://example.com/page-2</loc>
    <lastmod>2026-04-15</lastmod>
    <changefreq>monthly</changefreq>
    <priority>0.6</priority>
  </url>
</urlset>

Bing uses the sitemap to:

Find pages you haven't linked to yet
Prioritize crawling based on lastmod and priority
Understand your site structure

Note: Sitemaps don't guarantee indexing. Bing still decides whether to index each page based on quality, duplicate content, and relevance.

Step 1: Find Your Sitemap URL

Most modern websites generate a sitemap automatically. Check these common locations:

example.com/sitemap.xml
example.com/sitemaps/sitemap.xml
example.com/sitemap-index.xml

If you use a CMS like WordPress (Yoast, Rank Math), Shopify, or Wix, the platform generates your sitemap automatically.

To verify your sitemap exists: Paste the URL in your browser. You should see XML code (not an error page).

If you don't have a sitemap, you can:

Use your CMS's sitemap feature
Use a free tool like XML Sitemap Generator
Create one manually if you have a small site

💡 Emily's take: Many WordPress sites think Yoast is generating their sitemap but never actually enabled the feature. Check your SEO plugin settings. Same with Shopify—the default sitemap is at /sitemap.xml but you might not know it's there until you check.

Step 2: Sign Into Bing Webmaster Tools

Go to bing.com/webmasters and sign in with your Microsoft account.

Select your site from the left menu if you have multiple sites verified.

Step 3: Navigate to Sitemaps

In the left menu, click Sitemaps (under "Crawl & Indexing").

You'll see:

Any sitemaps you've already submitted
The submission status (Submitted, Processing, etc.)
Crawl statistics

Step 4: Submit a Sitemap

Click Submit a sitemap (blue button at the top).

Paste your sitemap URL (e.g., example.com/sitemap.xml) and click Submit.

Bing will add it to the crawl queue immediately.

Step 5: Monitor Crawling Progress

After submission, Bing will begin crawling within 24–48 hours. You can see:

Status: Whether Bing is still processing or has finished
URLs submitted: How many URLs are in your sitemap
URLs indexed: How many URLs Bing has indexed
Crawl errors: Any issues Bing found while crawling

If you see errors (4XX, 5XX, timeout), investigate:

Are those pages supposed to be indexed?
Is the server responding correctly?
Do robots.txt rules block crawling?

Best Practices for Sitemaps in Bing Webmaster Tools

1. Submit Your Main Sitemap

If you have a sitemap index (sitemap-index.xml), submit that. It links to all your child sitemaps.

2. Update Your Sitemap Regularly

When you publish new content, your sitemap should automatically update. Check that:

New pages appear in the sitemap within 24 hours
Old, deleted pages are removed from the sitemap
The lastmod date updates

3. Don't Include Pages You Don't Want Indexed

If a page has noindex, remove it from the sitemap. Sitemaps are a suggestion, but marking pages in both the sitemap and with noindex creates confusion.

4. Check for Crawl Errors

Visit the Crawl errors section monthly. Common issues:

404s (delete the URL or fix the link)
5XX errors (fix the server issue)
Redirects (Bing will follow them, but fix permanent redirects in your sitemap)
Robots.txt blocks (update robots.txt if pages should be crawlable)

5. Submit Multiple Sitemaps If Needed

If you have video, image, or mobile sitemaps, submit them too. Bing can process:

Video sitemaps
Image sitemaps
Mobile sitemaps
Standard XML sitemaps

Submitting Sitemaps for Different Site Types

WordPress

Most WordPress SEO plugins (Yoast, Rank Math, All in One SEO) generate sitemaps automatically.

Location: yoursite.com/sitemap.xml (or /sitemap_index.xml)

To enable: Go to your SEO plugin settings and ensure sitemaps are enabled.

Shopify

Shopify generates sitemaps automatically at:

Location: yoursite.myshopify.com/sitemap.xml

Wix

Wix sitemaps are generated automatically but aren't always visible. Go to:

Location: yoursite.wixsite.com/sitemap.xml (or yoursite.com/sitemap.xml if you have a custom domain)

Static/Custom Sites

If you're running a custom site without a CMS, use a free tool like XML Sitemap Generator or include sitemap generation in your build process.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Do I need to submit a sitemap to Bing if I already submitted it to Google?

A: Yes. Bing crawls independently from Google. Submitting to Google doesn't automatically submit to Bing.

Q: How often should I resubmit my sitemap?

A: You don't need to resubmit it. Bing crawls your submitted sitemap regularly. Only resubmit if you've made major changes (e.g., moved your sitemap to a new URL).

Q: What if my sitemap is over 50,000 URLs?

A: Bing limits sitemaps to 50,000 URLs. Split your sitemap into multiple files and use a sitemap index (sitemap-index.xml) to link them all.

Q: Will submitting a sitemap get my pages indexed automatically?

A: No. A sitemap is a suggestion. Bing still decides whether to index based on content quality, crawlability, and relevance. But submitting a sitemap increases your chances significantly.

Q: Can I see which URLs in my sitemap are indexed?

A: Partially. The Sitemaps report shows total indexed URLs, but not a page-by-page breakdown. Use the URL Inspection tool for individual pages.

Q: What's the difference between lastmod and priority in a sitemap?

A: lastmod tells Bing when the page was last updated (helps with crawl priority). priority is a hint about relative importance (0.0–1.0), but Bing usually ignores it in favor of actual traffic and backlinks.

The Bottom Line

Submitting your sitemap to Bing Webmaster Tools takes 2 minutes and significantly improves your chances of being indexed. Set it and forget it—Bing will crawl regularly. Check monthly for crawl errors and update your sitemap when you publish new content.

Emily Redmond is a data analyst at Emilytics — the AI analytics agent watching your GA4, Search Console, and Bing data. 8 years of experience. Say hi →