How to submit your website to Google, Bing, and Yahoo

Executive overview

Search engines won't automatically find a new website. The URL submission tools most people expect either no longer exist (Google's was discontinued in 2018) or are inferior to sitemap-based submission.

Submit a sitemap via Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools. Yahoo pulls results directly from Bing, so one submission covers both.

The sitemap route is the only reliable way to submit a site to Google, and the best option for Bing.

Submitting to Google

  • Verify ownership of your site in Google Search Console before anything else
  • Create a sitemap and upload it to the root folder of your domain
  • In Search Console, go to the Sitemaps section, enter your sitemap URL, and hit Submit
  • To resubmit a single page, use the Fetch as Google tool: enter the URL, hit Fetch, then click Request Indexing
  • The Fetch tool is not suitable for submitting large numbers of pages — use the sitemap method instead

Submitting to Bing (and Yahoo)

  • Bing still has a public URL submission tool at bing.com/toolbox/submit-site-url — enter your homepage URL and complete the captcha
  • The better option is Bing Webmaster Tools at bing.com/webmaster/home/add-site — provide your homepage URL, sitemap URL, and basic site details
  • Submitting to Bing automatically submits to Yahoo

Checking index status

  • Use the site: operator in Google or Bing followed by the URL or root domain
  • A returned result confirms the page is indexed; no result indicates a potential issue

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