XML Sitemap Checker

How does a sitemap help indexing?

A sitemap helps search engines discover preferred URLs. The checker probes common sitemap paths and reports XML structure; discovery does not guarantee indexing.

Distinguish a sitemap index from a URL list before interpreting its count. An index lists child sitemap files; their page totals need separate inspection. Include preferred canonical URLs that you want indexed and use accurate lastmod values for significant changes. Google ignores changefreq and priority. Each sitemap is limited to 50,000 URLs and 50 MB uncompressed. XML validity and successful submission do not establish that the listed pages have been crawled, indexed or approved for advertising.

• Auto-probes /sitemap.xml, /sitemap_index.xml
• Counts URLs and detects sitemap index vs leaf
• Checks for lastmod and changefreq

Example: interpret a finding and fix it

Illustration only, not a check of your website.

A sitemap index with three loc elements may list three child sitemaps rather than three content pages. Open each child to inventory actual page URLs and compare them with the pages you want indexed.

Sample a new URL, a redirected URL and a noindex URL. Keep the appropriate canonical URLs in the sitemap; entries that redirect or are excluded from indexing should be reviewed at the XML generator.

Lastmod should reflect meaningful content changes. Google ignores changefreq and priority; adding them cannot fix weak content or guarantee indexing. The 50 MB file limit refers to uncompressed size.

Google Search Central