Mobile Sitemap Guide

Mobile sitemaps used to be their own thing. Google once had a dedicated mobile sitemap format with a specific namespace for feature phone content. That format is deprecated. But the question of how sitemaps should handle mobile content is still relevant, especially if your site uses separate mobile URLs or dynamic serving.

This guide covers the current state of mobile sitemaps, when you need to think about them, and when you do not. For a general introduction to sitemaps, see our XML sitemap guide.

The Old Mobile Sitemap Format

Google introduced the mobile sitemap extension in the mid-2000s, when feature phones with limited browsers were the primary mobile devices. The format looked like this:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<urlset xmlns="http://www.sitemaps.org/schemas/sitemap/0.9"
        xmlns:mobile="http://www.google.com/schemas/sitemap-mobile/1.0">
  <url>
    <loc>https://example.com/mobile/page</loc>
    <mobile:mobile/>
  </url>
</urlset>

The <mobile:mobile/> tag flagged a URL as mobile content. This format is no longer needed or supported. Google deprecated it because the mobile landscape shifted from feature phones to smartphones, and the distinction between "mobile pages" and "desktop pages" changed fundamentally.

If you find tutorials or tools that generate this format, they are outdated.

Do You Need a Mobile Sitemap Today?

The answer depends on your site's mobile configuration.

Responsive design (single URL for all devices)

If your site uses responsive design -- the same URL serves the same HTML to all devices, with CSS handling the layout -- you do not need a separate mobile sitemap. Your standard XML sitemap already covers all your pages. Desktop and mobile users see the same URLs. There is nothing extra to communicate.

This is the most common setup and the one Google recommends. Your existing sitemap handles everything.

Separate mobile URLs (m.example.com)

If your site uses separate mobile URLs -- like m.example.com for mobile and www.example.com for desktop -- you need both sets of URLs to be discoverable. You have two options:

Option 1: Include both in the same sitemap. List both www.example.com/page/ and m.example.com/page/ in your XML sitemap. Google will crawl both and understand the relationship if you have proper rel="alternate" and rel="canonical" annotations on the pages themselves.

Option 2: Separate sitemaps. Create one sitemap for desktop URLs and one for mobile URLs. Submit both to Google Search Console. This is cleaner for large sites where combining both URL sets into one sitemap would exceed the 50,000 URL limit or make the file unwieldy.

Regardless of which option you choose, the critical piece is having the correct annotations on the pages:

<!-- On the desktop page (www.example.com/page/) -->
<link rel="alternate" media="only screen and (max-width: 640px)" href="https://m.example.com/page/" />

<!-- On the mobile page (m.example.com/page/) -->
<link rel="canonical" href="https://www.example.com/page/" />

The sitemap helps Google discover the URLs. The on-page annotations tell Google how the URLs relate to each other.

Dynamic serving (same URL, different HTML)

Dynamic serving means the same URL returns different HTML depending on the user agent. Desktop users get the desktop version, mobile users get the mobile version. From a sitemap perspective, this is like responsive design: you have one set of URLs, so your standard sitemap covers it.

The additional step for dynamic serving is the Vary: User-Agent HTTP header, which tells Google (and caches) that the content changes based on the requesting user agent. This is not a sitemap concern, but it is essential for correct crawling.

Mobile-First Indexing and Sitemaps

Google completed its move to mobile-first indexing, which means Googlebot primarily uses the mobile version of a page for indexing and ranking. This has several implications for sitemaps.

Your sitemap should reflect what mobile Googlebot sees

If you use separate mobile URLs, make sure your sitemap includes the mobile URLs (or at least the desktop URLs with proper annotations pointing to mobile equivalents). Google's mobile-first crawler needs to find and access the mobile versions.

Content parity matters

If your mobile pages have less content than your desktop pages, the mobile version is what gets indexed. This is not a sitemap issue per se, but it means your sitemap is pointing to pages where Google only sees the mobile content. Make sure the mobile versions contain the same substantive content as the desktop versions.

Structured data and metadata on mobile pages

Any structured data, meta descriptions, or title tags on your desktop pages should also be present on your mobile pages. Google indexes from the mobile version, so anything missing from the mobile HTML is effectively missing from Google's index.

Sitemap Tips for Mobile-Friendly Sites

Even if you do not need a separate mobile sitemap, there are sitemap practices that help with mobile indexing.

Verify mobile pages return 200

Before including a URL in your sitemap, make sure it returns a 200 status code for both desktop and mobile user agents. A URL that works on desktop but returns a redirect or error for mobile Googlebot will cause indexing problems.

Check rendering on mobile

Use Google's URL Inspection tool in Search Console to see the mobile-rendered version of your pages. If JavaScript-dependent content fails to render on mobile, Google will not index it, regardless of what your sitemap says.

Monitor mobile usability errors

Search Console's Mobile Usability report flags pages with issues like text too small, clickable elements too close together, or content wider than the screen. These issues do not directly affect sitemap processing, but they reduce the value of the pages your sitemap points to.

Include only indexable mobile pages

Do not include URLs in your sitemap if the mobile version has a noindex tag or is blocked by robots.txt. With mobile-first indexing, the mobile version's indexability is what matters.

Separate Mobile URLs: Full Sitemap Example

For sites with separate mobile URLs, here is a complete sitemap example:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<urlset xmlns="http://www.sitemaps.org/schemas/sitemap/0.9">
  <url>
    <loc>https://www.example.com/page-1/</loc>
    <lastmod>2026-06-01</lastmod>
  </url>
  <url>
    <loc>https://m.example.com/page-1/</loc>
    <lastmod>2026-06-01</lastmod>
  </url>
  <url>
    <loc>https://www.example.com/page-2/</loc>
    <lastmod>2026-05-28</lastmod>
  </url>
  <url>
    <loc>https://m.example.com/page-2/</loc>
    <lastmod>2026-05-28</lastmod>
  </url>
</urlset>

The sitemap includes both the desktop and mobile URLs. Google discovers both, then uses the on-page annotations (rel="alternate" and rel="canonical") to understand the relationship.

For large sites, splitting this into a sitemap index with separate desktop and mobile sitemaps is more manageable. See our guide on sitemap index files for details.

AMP and Sitemaps

Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) were once a significant mobile strategy. If you still maintain AMP versions of your pages, include the canonical (non-AMP) URLs in your sitemap, not the AMP URLs. Google discovers AMP versions through the <link rel="amphtml"> tag on the canonical page.

AMP adoption has declined significantly since Google removed the AMP requirement for Top Stories eligibility. If you are still running AMP, evaluate whether it is worth maintaining. Your sitemap strategy does not change either way -- canonical URLs go in the sitemap.

Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) and Sitemaps

PWAs are web applications that use service workers, manifests, and other technologies to provide app-like experiences. From a sitemap perspective, PWAs are standard websites. Include your PWA's URLs in your sitemap like any other pages.

The main consideration is that PWAs often use client-side routing (JavaScript-based URL changes). Make sure Google can discover and render all your routes. If your PWA generates URLs dynamically, your sitemap should list all the routes you want indexed.

Test with Search Console's URL Inspection tool to confirm Googlebot can render your PWA pages correctly.

Common Mistakes

Using the deprecated mobile sitemap namespace

The xmlns:mobile="http://www.google.com/schemas/sitemap-mobile/1.0" namespace is deprecated. Do not add it to your sitemaps. Use the standard sitemap format.

Excluding mobile URLs from sitemaps

If you use separate mobile URLs, both the desktop and mobile versions should be discoverable. Excluding mobile URLs from your sitemap means Google relies on other discovery methods (links, annotations), which is less reliable.

Having different lastmod dates for desktop and mobile URLs

If the same content page exists at www.example.com/page/ and m.example.com/page/, both sitemap entries should have the same lastmod date. Different dates create confusion about which version is current.

Submitting only the mobile sitemap

If you have separate sitemaps for desktop and mobile URLs, submit both to Search Console. Google needs to know about both URL sets.

Summary

For most modern websites using responsive design, there is no such thing as a "mobile sitemap." Your standard XML sitemap covers everything. If you use separate mobile URLs, include both desktop and mobile URLs in your sitemap (or use separate sitemaps submitted together). The deprecated mobile sitemap format with the <mobile:mobile/> tag is no longer needed. Focus on making sure your sitemap points to pages that work well on mobile and contain complete content for mobile-first indexing.