Submitting Sitemap URL Variations for GoogleSearchConsole?

Question

I understand that in order to index and rank on Google you are required to submit Sitemaps to GoogleSearchConsole.

However I can't seem to find any information on whether you need to add different versions of the URLs?

This question suggests you can submit both RSS and .XML SiteMap which was my original question... So I have.

But now I'm wondering if you need to account for http and https? What about URLs with and without www.?

For example do I need to submit 2 URLS:

https://www.example.com/feed
https://www.example.com/sitemap_index.xml

Or, do I need to submit multiple URLS:

https://www.example.com/feed
http://www.example.com/feed
https://example.com/feed
http://example.com/feed
https://www.example.com/sitemap_index.xml
http://www.example.com/sitemap_index.xml
https://example.com/sitemap_index.xml
http://example.com/sitemap_index.xml

I'm new at SEO and GoogleSearch and everything WebDev, so thank you in advance for what is probably an obvious query.

Answer 1

You should submit only one canonical version of each sitemap URL to Google. Use the final version that appears in your web browser after any redirects take place (such as from http to https, and from apex to www or vice versa).

If you think about it, all Google needs is one single URL that they can check to pull each sitemap from. It doesn't do Google any good to have multiple URLs that it can use to retrieve the same sitemap, especially since they all redirect to the canonical URL anyways.

So if you are submitting an RSS sitemap and an XML sitemap, you should use only those two URLs.

I understand that in order to index and rank on Google you are required to submit Sitemaps to GoogleSearchConsole.

That understanding is incorrect. Sitemaps are often entirely unnecessary to be indexed by and rank well on Google.

What sitemaps may be able to do is to enable poorly-connected pages in your website to be indexed by Google more quickly, and they can be useful in some situations for video content as well. However in other situations they can be more trouble than the (sometimes negligible) value they provide. Read The Sitemap Paradox for more details.