SEO Guide: Add Your Jekyll Blog to Google Search Console and Submit Sitemap

Can’t Find Your Blog on Google?

Have you ever experienced the frustration of building a Jekyll website only to find it completely invisible on Google search results? Don’t worry - this doesn’t mean your site is broken. It simply means you haven’t properly introduced your website to Google’s search engine yet.

To make search engines aware of your website’s existence, you need to complete two essential steps:

Submit your site to Google Search Console
Submit your Sitemap (XML site map)

Why SEO Matters for Your Blog

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is crucial for any website’s success:

Increased Visibility: Help users find your content
Organic Traffic: Drive free, targeted visitors
Credibility: Higher rankings build trust
Long-term Growth: Sustainable traffic source

Step 1: Add Your Site to Google Search Console

Visit 👉 Google Search Console

Choose the “URL prefix” method and enter your blog URL (recommended to use HTTPS format), then click continue.

Google will ask you to download a verification file named googlexxxxxxxxxx.html. Place this file in your Jekyll root directory.

# Move to project root directory
mv ~/Downloads/googlexxxxxxxxxx.html ./googlexxxxxxxxxx.html

# Ensure file is in version control and push
git add googlexxxxxxxxxx.html
git commit -m "[seo] Add Google Search Console verification file"
git push origin main  # or your branch name

Return to Search Console and click the “Verify” button.

After successful verification, you’ll see this confirmation:

Step 2: Submit Your Sitemap

A Sitemap is an XML file that tells search engines about all your website content, including each page’s URL, last update time, and more. This helps Google crawl and index your blog faster and more comprehensively.

📖 Google Official Documentation: What is a Sitemap?

What is an XML Sitemap?

An XML sitemap is a structured file that:

Lists all your website pages
Provides metadata about each page
Helps search engines understand your site structure
Improves crawling efficiency

1️⃣ Edit `Gemfile` to Add Sitemap Plugin

group :jekyll_plugins do
  gem "jekyll-sitemap"
end

2️⃣ Add Plugin to `_config.yml`

plugins:
  - jekyll-sitemap

3️⃣ Install Plugin and Rebuild Site

bundle install
bundle exec jekyll serve

You’ll now find sitemap.xml in your _site/ folder, indicating successful sitemap generation.

4️⃣ Submit Sitemap to Google

Return to Search Console’s “Sitemaps” section and enter:

sitemap.xml

Then click submit.

Advanced SEO Configuration

Custom Sitemap Configuration

# _config.yml
sitemap:
  exclude: ["/admin/", "/private/"]
  include: ["/important-page/"]
  changefreq: weekly
  priority: 0.8

Robots.txt Setup

Create a robots.txt file in your root directory:

User-agent: *
Allow: /

Sitemap: https://yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml

Meta Tags Optimization

# In your post front matter
title: "Your SEO-Optimized Title"
description: "Compelling meta description under 160 characters"
keywords: "relevant, keywords, for, your, content"

Monitoring Your SEO Performance

Google Search Console Features

Performance Reports: Track search queries and clicks
Coverage Reports: Monitor indexed pages
Core Web Vitals: Check page speed metrics
Mobile Usability: Ensure mobile-friendly design

Key Metrics to Monitor

Search Impressions: How often your site appears in search
Click-Through Rate (CTR): Percentage of clicks from impressions
Average Position: Your ranking position in search results
Indexed Pages: Number of pages Google has indexed

Common SEO Issues and Solutions

Site Not Indexed

Problem: Your site doesn’t appear in search results Solutions:

Verify Google Search Console setup
Check robots.txt for blocking directives
Ensure site is accessible to crawlers
Submit sitemap manually

Low Search Rankings

Problem: Site appears but ranks poorly Solutions:

Optimize page titles and meta descriptions
Improve content quality and relevance
Build quality backlinks
Enhance page loading speed

Duplicate Content Issues

Problem: Multiple URLs with similar content Solutions:

Use canonical tags
Implement proper redirects
Consolidate similar content
Use hreflang for multilingual sites

Best Practices for Jekyll SEO

Content Optimization

Keyword Research: Use relevant, searchable terms
Quality Content: Provide valuable, comprehensive information
Regular Updates: Keep content fresh and current
Internal Linking: Connect related posts and pages

Technical SEO

Fast Loading: Optimize images and minimize HTTP requests
Mobile Responsive: Ensure mobile-friendly design
Structured Data: Implement schema markup
Clean URLs: Use descriptive, keyword-rich URLs

Performance Optimization

# _config.yml optimization
compress_html:
  clippings: all
  comments: all
  endings: all
  profile: false
  blanklines: false
  ignore:
    envs: []

Troubleshooting SEO Issues

Verification File Not Working

# Check if file is accessible
curl https://yourdomain.com/googlexxxxxxxxxx.html

# Ensure proper file permissions
chmod 644 googlexxxxxxxxxx.html

Sitemap Generation Errors

# Check Jekyll build logs
bundle exec jekyll build --verbose

# Verify plugin installation
bundle list | grep sitemap

Search Console Errors

Check for DNS propagation delays
Verify HTTPS certificate validity
Ensure no redirect chains
Confirm proper canonical URLs

SEO Tools and Resources

Free SEO Tools

Google Search Console: Official SEO monitoring
Google PageSpeed Insights: Performance analysis
Google Mobile-Friendly Test: Mobile optimization
Schema.org Validator: Structured data testing

Paid SEO Tools

Ahrefs: Comprehensive SEO analysis
SEMrush: Keyword research and competitor analysis
Moz Pro: SEO metrics and tracking
Screaming Frog: Technical SEO audit

✅ Congratulations! You’ve Completed Basic SEO Setup!

Google will now begin crawling your website content. While it won’t appear in search results immediately, with consistent updates and valuable content, your site will gradually be indexed and ranked.

Next Steps

Monitor Performance: Check Search Console regularly
Optimize Content: Focus on quality and relevance
Build Backlinks: Earn links from reputable sites
Track Progress: Monitor rankings and traffic

TIP

If you have different verification methods, want to learn more about SEO settings, or need help with advanced optimization, feel free to leave a comment or email me. Let’s work together to improve your blog’s visibility! ��