What it means
An XML sitemap is a file, usually at /sitemap.xml, that lists the URLs of a site’s public pages, optionally with the date each last changed. Large sites use a sitemap index that points to several sitemaps.
“Not working” means the address returns an error, redirects to an HTML page, or returns a file with no URLs.
Why it matters
Google says a sitemap helps it crawl a site more efficiently, and is most useful for large sites, new sites with few links, and sites whose pages aren’t well linked to each other. It doesn’t guarantee that every URL will be crawled or indexed.
A broken sitemap also wastes the place search engines look first: Search Console reports errors for a sitemap it can’t read.
How to find it yourself
- Open yoursite.com/sitemap.xml, and look for a Sitemap: line in robots.txt.
- In Search Console, the Sitemaps report shows each submitted sitemap’s status and the URLs Google read.
How to fix it
On any website
- Generate a sitemap of your public, canonical, indexable pages; leave out redirects, error pages and noindexed pages.
- Keep each sitemap under 50,000 URLs and 50 MB uncompressed; use a sitemap index for more.
- Add a Sitemap: line with its full address to robots.txt and submit it in Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools.
On Shopify
- Shopify creates /sitemap.xml automatically once the store is public. Remove the storefront password, then submit the sitemap in Search Console.
On WordPress and WooCommerce
- WordPress 5.5 and later serve /wp-sitemap.xml; SEO plugins such as Yoast and Rank Math replace it with their own. Make sure one is enabled, then submit its address.
How to check the fix
- Run the sitemap checker: it reads the file, counts the URLs and tests a sample of them.
- Check the Sitemaps report in Search Console a few days after submitting.
How FixReports finds it
The SEO checker requests the sitemap named in robots.txt, or /sitemap.xml, and reports an error status or an empty file. The sitemap checker reads up to 20 child sitemaps and tests a sample of the URLs.