Sitemap.xml checker

Reads the list you hand search and finds what is wrong with it: http addresses, pages listed twice, carts and tag archives, and dates that are all the build time.

This is one of the checks inside Growth Score

Growth Score runs it with the rest on your live site, scores the result and shows what to fix first.

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Why it matters

Why this is worth checking

A sitemap is how you hand search a list of what exists, which matters most for the pages nothing links to.

It is also the easiest file to let rot: addresses that redirect, pages that were deleted, and lastmod dates set to today on every URL, which teaches search to ignore the dates entirely.

What it reads

What it looks at

Addresses listed more than once
Relative or http where https belongs
Missing or identical lastmod dates
Within the 50,000 address limit

Reading a result

What a finding means

Each finding says what was seen. This is what it tells you about the page.

Duplicate addressesOne page is listed twice, which wastes the list and blurs the signal.

Identical lastmod datesEvery page claims a change today, so search learns to ignore the dates.

Relative or http addressesEntries should be full https addresses, or they may be skipped.

Common fixes

What to change first

The fixes that come up most, in the order they usually pay off.

List each page onceRemove duplicates and variants that redirect to the main address.

Set real lastmod datesUpdate the date only when the page content changes.

Use full https addressesWrite every entry with scheme and domain, matching your canonical.

In Growth Score

Feeds Findability

Whether search engines can find and then list your pages. txt and sitemap, your page titles and descriptions, and how your pages are addressed.

It checks the file, not the pages in it. Whether each address answers, redirects or 404s needs a request per URL, and this makes none.

Glossary

Terms behind this check

XML sitemapA file that lists the URLs you want search engines to know about, with optional update dates.CrawlabilityHow easily a search engine's bots can reach and read the pages of your site.Canonical URLThe preferred address for a page that can be reached through several URLs.

Go deeper

Guides that cover it

Search for a new siteWhat moves a new domain, in what order, and what to skip so early effort is not wasted.Get pages found in searchSix checks in the order search meets them, from robots.txt through to indexing.Keep search traffic growingRead the trend, rescue pages that slip, then add new pages where they pay off.

FAQ

Questions

Does a sitemap guarantee indexing?

No. It tells search what exists. Whether a page is indexed depends on its quality and on search.

How many pages can one sitemap hold?

Up to 50,000 addresses. Beyond that, split it and list the parts in a sitemap index.

Does the check change my site?

No. It only reads. Nothing is installed, edited or sent to your site by a check.

The other 11

The rest of the checks

Run it with the rest

Growth Score reads your whole site, scores it against sites like yours and ranks what to fix.

Test your whole site All the checks

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