A sitemap checker fetches your XML sitemap, confirms it is valid and within the protocol's limits, and tests whether the URLs inside it actually return 200 and are indexable. Run your sitemap or sitemap index through the QCK XML Sitemap Checker, then remove any redirected, broken, noindexed or non-canonical URLs it finds.
What an XML sitemap is
An XML sitemap is a file that lists the URLs you want search engines to discover and crawl. It follows the sitemaps.org protocol, which Google, Bing and other search engines support. Each entry has a required <loc> with the URL and can include an optional <lastmod> date.
The protocol sets firm limits:
- A single sitemap can contain at most 50,000 URLs and be at most 50MB uncompressed.
- Larger sites split URLs across several sitemaps and list them in a sitemap index, which can itself reference up to 50,000 sitemaps.
- The file must be UTF-8 encoded, use absolute URLs, and escape special characters such as
&.
Google has documented that it ignores the <priority> and <changefreq> values, and uses <lastmod> only when it is consistently and verifiably accurate.
Sitemaps can be gzip-compressed to save bandwidth, but the 50MB limit applies to the uncompressed file. Search engines also accept plain text sitemaps with one URL per line, and RSS or Atom feeds, though XML is the most common and flexible format.
Why sitemap health matters
A sitemap is a hint, not a command. Search engines still decide what to crawl and index. But a clean sitemap is one of the clearest signals you can send about which URLs matter. When it is full of redirects, 404s and noindexed pages, you send mixed signals and make it harder to diagnose indexing problems in Search Console.
Sitemaps matter most for large sites, new sites with few external links, and sites with pages that are hard to reach through internal links. For e-commerce stores with thousands of products and frequent catalog changes, an accurate sitemap with honest lastmod dates helps search engines find new and updated products sooner. AI search crawlers that build their own indexes can use sitemaps for discovery as well.
How to use the QCK sitemap checker
- Open the XML Sitemap Checker.
- Paste the URL of your sitemap or sitemap index. Common locations are
/sitemap.xml,/sitemap_index.xmland/wp-sitemap.xml, and robots.txt often lists it on aSitemap:line. - Run the check. The tool fetches the file, validates the XML and counts the URLs.
- If it is an index, review the child sitemaps it found and their status.
- Review the spot-check results: a sample of URLs tested for status code and indexability.
- Note any patterns, such as all redirects coming from one child sitemap or one URL format.
How to read the results and fix common issues
| Finding | What it means | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| XML parse error | The file is malformed | Fix unescaped characters or broken tags; regenerate if it is built by a plugin |
| Over 50,000 URLs or 50MB | Exceeds protocol limits | Split into multiple sitemaps under an index |
| URLs return 3xx | Sitemap lists old URLs | Replace with the final destination URLs |
| URLs return 404 or 410 | Deleted pages still listed | Remove them from the sitemap |
| URLs marked noindex | Conflicting signals | Remove from the sitemap, or remove the noindex if the page should rank |
| Canonical points elsewhere | Listed URL is a duplicate | List only the canonical version |
| Mixed HTTP and HTTPS or www variants | Inconsistent URLs | Use your one preferred protocol and host |
The rule behind all of these: a sitemap should list only canonical, indexable URLs that return 200. Anything else is noise.
Check coverage in Search Console
Submit your sitemap in Search Console's Sitemaps report and monitor how many submitted URLs are indexed in the Pages report, filtered by that sitemap. A large gap between submitted and indexed pages points to quality, duplication or crawl issues worth investigating. Google retired its sitemap "ping" endpoint in 2023, so submission through Search Console and a Sitemap: line in robots.txt are the reliable methods.
Sitemap tips and mistakes to avoid
- Keep lastmod honest. Setting every URL to today's date on each build teaches search engines to ignore the field.
- Split by type. Separate sitemaps for products, collections, articles and pages make indexing problems easier to isolate.
- Do not include parameter URLs. Filter, sort and tracking parameters belong out of the sitemap.
- Watch platform defaults. Shopify and WordPress generate sitemaps automatically, and apps or plugins can add or remove URL types without you noticing.
- Need a new one? Read how to create an XML sitemap.
- Reference it in robots.txt. See the robots.txt guide for the syntax.
When the sitemap says one thing and the index says another, the cause is often deeper: duplicate URLs, crawl traps or thin pages. Our technical SEO team diagnoses indexing gaps, and our e-commerce SEO team handles large catalogs.