<b>SOP: Stop pinging the deprecated endpoint</b>

<b>SOP: Stop pinging the deprecated endpoint</b>

The old <code>google.com/ping?sitemap=</code> endpoint was retired. If your deploy script still calls it, you think you're notifying Google — you're not.

— ✅ Remove any <code>/ping?sitemap=</code> call from CI/CD
— ✅ Submission happens once via GSC UI or the Search Console API (<code>sitemaps.submit</code>)
— ✅ For ongoing changes, rely on accurate lastmod — that IS the modern signal
— ✅ Keep the <code>Sitemap:</code> line in robots.txt for discovery

The replacement is not a re-ping. It's a stable sitemap URL + truthful lastmod that Google polls on its own schedule.

Definition of done: zero ping calls in your pipeline, sitemap declared in robots.txt, and lastmod is accurate (see the lastmod SOP).