XML Sitemap Indexed URLs in Google Webmaster Tools

Some people get puzzled when they delete an old XML sitemap and later submit a new. Google Webmaster Tools will always for newly submitted sitemaps report indexed URLs as non-existing or quite low. Given some time, the count usually grows, but how fast depends on the website.

We can conclude this number does not represent the count of indexed URLs in Google search engine based on:

1. If your your website ranked in search engine results before deleting/submitting the sitemap, it still is after submitting the XML sitemap.
2. XML sitemaps are supposed to be complementary to normal search engine crawling.

Instead, we believe the indexed URLs count reported per XML sitemap file has a more subtle meaning:
URLs extracted from the submitted XML sitemap which are verified to be included in the search engine index.

1. Submit two XML sitemaps to Google containing same URLs.
2. Wait until most URLs are reported indexed in both XML sitemaps.
3. Delete one of the XML sitemaps. Now add it again with a new name.
4. View indexed URLs statistics for both sitemaps:
   • Added XML sitemap has a very low number if any of indexed URLs.
   • Untouched XML sitemap has same number of indexed URLs as before.

• Just deleted and added the file sitemap-multi-index.xml.
  Notice how Google Webmaster Tools as XML sitemap URLs indexed writes: No data available. Check back soon..
  
  
  
• The file sitemap.xml has not been changed, and continues to show the same amount of URLs indexed.