Hello,
We apologize for the issue you are facing with Google not being able to fetch your sitemap. It sounds frustrating to have to repeat the steps without a lasting solution. Here are some additional troubleshooting steps you can try:
1. Validate Your Sitemap
Make sure your sitemap is correctly configured. You can use the Validate XML Sitemap tool to check for any issues. If there are no issues detected, it should confirm that your sitemap is valid.
2. Ensure the Sitemap is Located in the Root Folder
If you manually created the sitemap, ensure it is located in the root folder of your WordPress installation. The URL should look like this:
https://yourdomainname.com/sitemap_index.xml
3. Check Your Posts’ Index Settings
Ensure that your posts are set to index. Go to Rank Math SEO → Titles & Meta and make sure the Index checkbox is enabled in the Robots Meta settings.
4. Flush the Cache (if applicable)
Even though you mentioned not using a cache plugin, sometimes server-side caching can still affect your sitemap. If you have access to your hosting control panel, consider flushing any server-side cache.
5. Exclude the Sitemap From Caching
Make sure your sitemap is excluded from caching. You can refer to this knowledgebase article on ensuring that your sitemaps are excluded from caching.
6. Monitor Google Search Console
After making these changes, monitor Google Search Console for any updates or errors regarding your sitemap submission. If the error persists, it may be worth waiting a bit longer as sometimes Google takes time to fetch updated sitemaps.
If you continue to experience issues after trying these steps, please reply to this ticket with your site URL so we can assist you further. Thank you for raising this concern, and we’re here to help!
Sources:
Troubleshooting the “Couldn’t Fetch” Error in Google Search Console » Rank Math
Rank Math Sitemap Issues and Their Fixes » Rank Math
Hello,
Thank you for your query and we are so sorry about the trouble this must have caused.
We checked your sitemap and it seems to be loading just fine.
Please try disabling transient caching for the sitemaps by applying the code below to your website:
add_filter( 'rank_math/sitemap/enable_caching', '__return_false');
Here’s how you can add filter to your WordPress site:https://rankmath.com/kb/wordpress-hooks-actions-filters/
Then, remove all your sitemaps from your Google Search Console and re-submit only the index sitemap (https://website.com/sitemap_index.xml).
If the issue persists, please click on the specific sitemap with the “Couldn’t Fetch” error to reveal the details of the issue and share a screenshot of that.
Looking forward to helping you.
Hello Jeremy,
Thanks. What should be the setting under the code snippets? Run everywhere?
Any other settings that we should follow?
Thanks!
Hello Jeremy,
Before we implement the code snippets, the sitemap error just happened again, it said sitemap cannot be read.
The screenshot is added to the sensitive data section, please check.
Thank you.
Hello,
The sitemap hasn’t been crawled. You should see that the “Last read” column will be filled with a date when Google last crawled that sitemap.
Also, you should choose run everywhere in the snippet.
Looking forward to helping you.
Hello,
I have updated the sensitive data as requested. Can you please check further?
Thank you.
Dear team,
My sitemap cannot be read by google again after I have implemented your suggestions 2 weeks ago, please refer to the last 2 links under sensitive data.
It seriously affect our google ranking, please help to fix it as soon as possible.
Thank you.
Regards
Tin Tin
Hello,
Sorry for the unexpected delay and any inconvenience caused due to that.
The sitemaps are currently working fine. Please confirm if you still see the error in your GSC account. If you receive the error again in your GSC account, please visit the sitemap URL directly in your browser without making any changes to the site or flushing the cache to confirm if the sitemap is loading currently or returning a 404 error.
Looking forward to helping you.
Hello,
The sitemap is not working again, it is very annoying to check the sitemap everyday to see if it is working.
I have updated 3 new links under the sensitive data as requested. Can you please check further?
Thank you.
Dear team,
The sitemap doesn’t work again today. May I ask for any updates from your side please?
Regards
Dear team,
May I ask for any updates please?
Dear team,
May I ask for any updates please?
Hello,
We checked your post sitemap, and it’s loading perfectly fine. Can you please try the following sitemap URL instead and observe if you’re still experiencing the fetch issue?
https://YOURWEBSITE.com/?sitemap=post
Let us know how that goes. Looking forward to helping you.
Hello,
Since we did not hear back from you for 15 days, we are assuming that you found the solution. We are closing this support ticket.
If you still need assistance or any other help, please feel free to open a new support ticket, and we will be more than happy to assist.
Thank you.
