Question 1

urlset vs sitemapindex?

Accepted Answer

urlset lists URLs; sitemapindex lists multiple sitemap files.

Question 2

Should I include redirects?

Accepted Answer

Prefer final canonical URLs, not redirects.

Question 3

Does a sitemap guarantee indexing?

Accepted Answer

No—discovery only. Indexing depends on quality and accessibility.

Question 4

How often should I update sitemaps?

Accepted Answer

Any time your URL set changes meaningfully.

Question 5

Where should it live?

Accepted Answer

Commonly /sitemap.xml and referenced in robots.txt.

Sitemap Validator – Validate sitemap.xml (urlset & sitemapindex)