Sitemap Viewer

Submitting a sitemap doesn't guarantee indexing. Google evaluates page quality, crawl budget, and technical factors before indexing. Common blockers include noindex tags or robots.txt restrictions.

• Check for noindex meta tags on pages
• Verify robots.txt isn't blocking access
• Ensure pages have unique, quality content
• Monitor Search Console coverage reports

Google enforces strict limits: 50MB file size and 50,000 URLs per sitemap. Exceeding these causes partial crawling or complete rejection. Large sites must use multiple sitemaps.

• Split into multiple sitemap files
• Create a sitemap index file
• Organize by content type or date
• Remove low-value or duplicate URLs

Never include noindex pages in your sitemap. This sends conflicting signals to Google - you're simultaneously saying "crawl this" and "don't index this," wasting crawl budget.

• Only include indexable pages
• Remove blocked or redirected URLs
• Exclude paginated pages if using canonical
• Audit sitemap against robots meta tags

Accurate lastmod dates help Google prioritize crawling recently updated content. Fake or missing dates reduce trust and can hurt crawl efficiency for frequently updated sites.

• Use actual content modification dates
• Don't update for minor changes
• Format: YYYY-MM-DD or W3C datetime
• Helps with news sites and blogs

URL parameters, trailing slashes, and protocol variations create duplicates that confuse search engines. Include only canonical versions to maximize crawl efficiency and avoid dilution.

• Use consistent URL format (www vs non-www)
• Choose trailing slash policy and stick to it
• Exclude URLs with tracking parameters
• Include only canonical URL versions

Update frequency depends on your site's change rate. News sites need daily updates, while static sites can update monthly. Google recrawls sitemaps based on observed change patterns.

• Dynamic sites: Update with each publish
• E-commerce: Daily for inventory changes
• Blogs: Weekly or with new posts
• Static sites: Monthly verification

Special characters like &, <, >, quotes, and apostrophes must be escaped in XML. Unescaped characters cause parsing failures, preventing Google from reading your entire sitemap.

• & becomes &amp;
• < becomes &lt; and > becomes &gt;
• Validate with XML validators before submission
• Use CDATA for complex content

Include only your most valuable, unique content. Prioritize pages that drive conversions, have substantial content, and target important keywords. Quality over quantity improves indexing rates.

• Core product and service pages
• High-quality blog posts and guides
• Recently updated important content
• Exclude thin or duplicate content