You submit a sitemap to Naver by logging into Naver Search Advisor, verifying your site ownership, then pasting your sitemap URL into the Request menu. Naver's crawler, Yeti, reads the sitemap and starts indexing your pages. The whole process takes about 10 minutes.
Naver holds over 60% of the search market share in South Korea. If your site targets Korean users and you skip Naver, you miss the majority of your audience. Google only handles about 28% of Korean search traffic. Submitting your sitemap to Naver Search Advisor is the first step to getting your pages visible on South Korea's largest search engine.
What is Naver Search Advisor
Naver Search Advisor is the official webmaster tool from Naver. Think of it as Naver's version of Google Search Console. The platform was previously called Naver Webmaster Tools, and many guides still use the old name. Both names refer to the same tool at searchadvisor.naver.com.
The dashboard gives you access to:
Naver uses a search robot called Yeti to crawl websites. Yeti works differently from Googlebot. Getting indexed on Naver often requires more manual steps than Google, and submitting a sitemap through Search Advisor is one of the most direct ways to tell Yeti about your pages.
Create a Naver Account
You need a Naver account before you access Search Advisor. Go to naver.com and sign up for a free account.
A few things to know:
Once your account is active, head to searchadvisor.naver.com and log in with your new credentials.
Add Your Website to Naver Search Advisor
After logging in, navigate to the Webmaster Tools section. You will see a field to enter your website URL.
Steps to add your site:
Make sure the URL matches your live site. If your site runs on https://www.yoursite.com, enter the www version. Naver treats www and non-www as different properties.
Verify Your Site Ownership
Naver must confirm you own the website before letting you submit a sitemap or view any data. Two primary verification methods are available.
HTML File Upload
Naver provides a small HTML file with a unique name. Download the file, upload it to your website's root directory, and confirm access by visiting the file URL in your browser.
Steps:
This method works best when you have direct server access through FTP, SFTP, or a hosting file manager.
HTML Meta Tag
If you cannot upload files to your server, add a meta tag to your site's HTML head section instead.
Steps:
WordPress users add the meta tag through their theme's header settings or through an SEO plugin. Most website builders (Wix, Squarespace, Shopify) have a dedicated field for third-party verification codes in their settings panels.
Troubleshooting verification:
Submit Your Sitemap to Naver
With your site verified, you now have access to all Search Advisor tools. Here is how to submit your XML sitemap.
Locate the Request Menu
Inside the Naver Search Advisor dashboard, select your verified website property. Look for the Request section in the left sidebar navigation. This section contains the sitemap submission tool.
Enter Your Sitemap URL
Naver accepts standard XML sitemaps following the sitemaps.org protocol. Your sitemap should be UTF-8 encoded, contain fewer than 50,000 URLs per file, and stay under 50MB uncompressed.
If your site has more than 50,000 URLs, split them into multiple sitemap files and use a sitemap index file to reference each one. Submit the index file URL to Naver instead of individual sitemaps.
Submit Your RSS Feed
Naver encourages submitting an RSS feed alongside your XML sitemap. The RSS feed helps Naver stay updated with your most recent content additions.
Submitting both the sitemap and RSS feed gives Yeti two signals about your site structure and new content. Do both.
Configure Robots.txt for Yeti
Naver's Yeti crawler respects the standard robots.txt protocol. Your robots.txt file must be in your site's root directory and return a 200 status code.
Allow Yeti Access
Add these lines to your robots.txt file to allow Yeti to crawl your site:
```
User-agent: Yeti
Allow: /
```
Block Specific Paths
To keep Yeti away from private or admin pages:
```
User-agent: Yeti
Disallow: /admin/
Disallow: /private/
```
Add Sitemap Reference
Include your sitemap URL in robots.txt so Yeti finds it automatically:
```
Sitemap: https://yoursite.com/sitemap.xml
```
Do not block CSS or JavaScript files in robots.txt. Yeti needs access to these files to render your pages correctly. Blocking them hurts your indexing performance on Naver.
Yeti identifies itself with user-agent strings like `Mozilla/5.0 (compatible; Yeti/1.1; +http://naver.me/spd)`. Check your server logs for this string to confirm Yeti visits your site after sitemap submission.
Naver Sitemap XML Requirements
Your sitemap file must follow these specifications for Naver to process it correctly:
Example sitemap structure:
```xml
```
All URLs in the sitemap should return a 200 OK status code. Remove any URLs returning 404 errors, 301 redirects, or 5xx server errors. Naver flags these as issues and they slow down your indexing.
Fix Common Sitemap Submission Errors
Several problems prevent Naver from fetching or processing your sitemap. Here are the most common ones and their fixes.
Collection Failure or Connection Error
Naver displays "Collection Failure" when Yeti cannot reach your sitemap file.
Causes and fixes:
Blocked Collection
Your robots.txt file blocks Yeti from accessing the sitemap or your pages.
Fix: Review your robots.txt file. Remove any `Disallow` rules blocking the Yeti user agent. Add an explicit `Allow: /sitemap.xml` if needed.
Invalid XML Format
Naver rejects malformed XML files. Whitespace at the beginning of the file, missing closing tags, or invalid characters all trigger parsing errors.
Fix: Validate your sitemap at xml-sitemaps.com/validate-xml-sitemap.html or any XML validator. Fix all reported errors before resubmitting.
URLs Returning Error Status Codes
Pages in your sitemap returning 4xx or 5xx errors cause Naver to flag your sitemap.
Fix: Audit every URL in your sitemap. Remove dead links, broken redirects, and server-error pages. Resubmit a clean sitemap.
Best Practices for Naver SEO
Getting indexed is step one. Ranking well on Naver requires more work.
Write Content in Korean
Naver strongly prioritizes Korean-language content. If you target the Korean market, write your pages in Korean (Hangul). Machine-translated content performs poorly. Invest in native Korean copywriting for best results.
Optimize for Mobile
The vast majority of Korean internet users access Naver through mobile devices. Your site must be fully responsive, load fast on mobile connections, and pass mobile usability standards.
Use Structured Data
Implement schema markup on your pages. Naver supports structured data for breadcrumbs, FAQs, reviews, and product information. Structured data helps your pages appear more prominently in Naver's search results.
Submit URLs After Publishing
Naver's indexing is slower and more manual than Google's. After publishing new content, go back to Naver Search Advisor and submit the URL through the Request menu. Do not wait for Yeti to find pages on its own.
Monitor Indexing Status
Check the Indexing Status and Error Reports sections of your Naver Search Advisor dashboard regularly. Catch and fix issues before they affect your search visibility.
Naver Search Advisor vs Google Search Console
Both tools serve the same purpose for different search engines. But they differ in several ways.
If your audience is in South Korea, submit your sitemap to both Naver Search Advisor and Google Search Console.
Submitting your sitemap to Naver Search Advisor takes about 10 minutes and gives Yeti a direct map to your content. Create a Naver account, verify site ownership through HTML file or meta tag, paste your sitemap URL in the Request menu, configure robots.txt for Yeti access, and monitor your indexing status from the dashboard. For sites targeting the Korean market, Naver Search Advisor is not optional. Skip it and you lose access to the majority of Korean search traffic.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does Naver take to index pages after sitemap submission?
Naver's indexing speed varies. New pages from established sites appear within a few days. For new or low-authority domains, indexing takes one to several weeks. Submitting pages directly through the Request menu in Search Advisor speeds up the process. Unlike Google, Naver benefits from manual URL submission for each new page.
Do I need a Korean phone number to create a Naver account?
No. Naver accepts international phone numbers during registration. The signup form is in Korean, so use your browser's translation feature to fill it out. Any valid mobile phone number works for the SMS verification step.
Does Naver support sitemap index files?
Yes. If your site has more than 50,000 URLs, split them across multiple XML sitemap files and reference them with a sitemap index file. Submit the index file URL to Naver Search Advisor. Naver follows the same sitemap protocol standards as Google and other search engines.
Why does Naver show "Collection Failure" for my sitemap?
Collection failure means Yeti could not reach or parse your sitemap file. Common causes include firewall rules blocking the Yeti bot, an incorrect sitemap URL, server timeouts, or malformed XML syntax. Check your robots.txt for Disallow rules targeting Yeti, verify the sitemap URL loads in a browser, and validate your XML for syntax errors.
Should I submit both a sitemap and RSS feed to Naver?
Yes. Naver encourages submitting both. The XML sitemap gives Yeti a complete map of your site structure. The RSS feed notifies Naver about your newest content updates. Using both speeds up content discovery and keeps your indexed pages current.
Is Naver Search Advisor free to use?
Yes. Naver Search Advisor is completely free. Create a Naver account, verify your website, and access all webmaster tools at no cost. There are no paid tiers or premium features locked behind a paywall.