# Post-Deployment Steps: Sitemap & SEO

> **Complete these steps AFTER deploying to production**

---

## ✅ Immediate (Day 1)

### 1. Verify Sitemap is Live

```bash
# Check sitemap accessibility
curl -I https://workroot.in/sitemap.xml

# View sitemap content
curl https://workroot.in/sitemap.xml

# Expected: HTTP 200, valid XML with workroot.in URLs
```

**Expected Result**:
- HTTP 200 status
- Valid XML
- All static pages + blog posts included
- Domain: `workroot.in`

---

### 2. Verify Robots.txt

```bash
curl https://workroot.in/robots.txt
```

**Should contain**:
- `Sitemap: https://workroot.in/sitemap.xml`
- AI crawler allowances (GPTBot, anthropic-ai, etc.)

---

### 3. Submit to Google Search Console

**URL**: https://search.google.com/search-console

**Steps**:
1. Add property: `https://workroot.in`
2. Verify ownership (HTML tag recommended)
3. Submit sitemap: `sitemap.xml`
4. Wait 24-48 hours for first crawl

**Verification tag** (add to `src/components/SEO.astro`):
```html
<meta name="google-site-verification" content="[GOOGLE_CODE]" />
```

---

### 4. Submit to Bing Webmaster Tools

**URL**: https://www.bing.com/webmasters

**Steps**:
1. Import from Google Search Console (easiest)
   - Or manually verify
2. Submit sitemap: `sitemap.xml`

---

## ✅ Week 1

### 5. Monitor Initial Indexing

**Google Search Console**:
- Coverage report → Check discovered pages
- URL Inspection → Test individual URLs
- Sitemaps → Verify sitemap processed

**Expected**:
- Sitemap processed without errors
- Homepage discovered
- 9+ static pages discovered

---

### 6. Set Up IndexNow (Optional)

**For instant indexing** on Bing/Yandex:

```bash
# Generate API key
openssl rand -hex 32 > public/[KEY].txt

# Submit URLs on publish
curl -X POST "https://api.indexnow.org/indexnow" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "host": "workroot.in",
    "key": "[YOUR_API_KEY]",
    "keyLocation": "https://workroot.in/[KEY].txt",
    "urlList": ["https://workroot.in/blog/new-post/"]
  }'
```

---

### 7. Verify GitHub Actions Workflow

1. Make a content change (edit blog post)
2. Push to main branch
3. Check Actions tab: https://github.com/[YOUR_REPO]/actions
4. Verify "Ping Search Engines" workflow runs

**Expected**: Workflow completes, pings Google + Bing

---

## ✅ Week 2-4

### 8. Monitor Coverage Growth

**Check weekly**:
- Number of indexed pages
- Crawl errors (should be 0)
- Core Web Vitals status

**Expected timeline**:
- Day 3-7: Homepage indexed
- Day 7-14: Key pages indexed
- Day 14-30: All blog posts indexed

---

### 9. Fix Any Crawl Errors

**Common issues**:
| Error | Fix |
|-------|-----|
| 404 Not Found | Fix broken links |
| Server error (5xx) | Check server logs |
| Redirect error | Verify 301 redirects |
| robots.txt blocked | Update robots.txt |

---

### 10. Submit to Additional Search Engines (Optional)

**Yandex** (if targeting Russia/Eastern Europe):
- https://webmaster.yandex.com
- Add site + submit sitemap

**Brave Search**:
- https://search.brave.com/help/webmaster
- Submit sitemap

---

## ✅ Ongoing Maintenance

### Monthly Checks

```bash
# Verify sitemap still working
curl https://workroot.in/sitemap.xml | grep -c '<loc>'

# Check robots.txt
curl https://workroot.in/robots.txt | grep Sitemap

# Count indexed pages (Search Console)
# Compare to sitemap URL count
```

---

### When Publishing New Content

**Automatic** (via GitHub Actions):
- Push to main → workflow pings search engines

**Manual** (if needed):
```bash
./scripts/ping-sitemap.sh
```

**IndexNow** (for instant indexing):
```bash
# Submit new URL
curl -X POST "https://api.indexnow.org/indexnow" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "host": "workroot.in",
    "key": "[API_KEY]",
    "urlList": ["https://workroot.in/blog/new-post/"]
  }'
```

---

## 📊 Success Metrics

### Week 1
- [ ] Sitemap submitted to Google
- [ ] Sitemap submitted to Bing
- [ ] No sitemap errors
- [ ] Homepage discovered

### Week 4
- [ ] Homepage indexed
- [ ] Key pages indexed (services, about, contact)
- [ ] 50%+ blog posts indexed
- [ ] No critical crawl errors

### Week 12
- [ ] 90%+ coverage
- [ ] All blog posts indexed
- [ ] Regular crawl activity
- [ ] Organic traffic starting

---

## 🔍 Monitoring Tools

| Tool | URL | Check |
|------|-----|-------|
| Search Console | https://search.google.com/search-console | Coverage, crawl errors |
| Bing Webmaster | https://www.bing.com/webmasters | Indexing status |
| PageSpeed Insights | https://pagespeed.web.dev | Core Web Vitals |
| XML Validator | https://www.xml-sitemaps.com/validate-xml-sitemap.html | Sitemap validity |

---

## ⚠️ Troubleshooting

| Issue | Solution |
|-------|----------|
| Sitemap returns 404 | Check deployment, verify file in dist/ |
| "Couldn't fetch" error | Check HTTPS, verify sitemap accessible |
| Pages not indexed | Wait 2-4 weeks, check robots.txt |
| Duplicate content | Set canonical URLs, use 301 redirects |
| Slow indexing | Get backlinks, use IndexNow |

---

## 📞 Support

**Documentation**:
- Setup guide: `.agents/seo-specialist/SITEMAP_SETUP.md`
- Submission guide: `.agents/seo-specialist/SEARCH_ENGINE_SUBMISSION.md`
- Quick ref: `.agents/seo-specialist/QUICK_REFERENCE.md`

**Tools**:
- Test: `./scripts/test-sitemap.sh`
- Ping: `./scripts/ping-sitemap.sh`

---

## Next Agent Task

After completing these steps, ready for:
- **Analytics setup** (Google Analytics, Plausible)
- **Schema markup** (Organization, Article, BreadcrumbList)
- **Content optimization** (meta descriptions, title tags)
- **Backlink strategy** (outreach, guest posts)

---

**Status**: ⏳ Awaiting deployment
**Owner**: DevOps / Deployment team
**SEO Agent**: Completed implementation
**Date**: 2026-03-21
