Sitemap failing on both Google and Bin

Hello,

We apologize for the issue you are facing with your sitemap not being fetched by Google and Bing. This can be frustrating, but there are several steps you can take to troubleshoot this problem.

1. Validate Your Sitemap

First, ensure that your sitemap is correctly configured. You can validate your sitemap using the Validate XML Sitemap tool. Just enter your sitemap URL and click VALIDATE SITEMAP. If there are any issues, the tool will provide feedback.

2. Check Sitemap Location

Make sure your sitemap is located in the root folder of your WordPress installation. The correct URL should look like this:
https://yourdomainname.com/sitemap_index.xml

3. Ensure Posts Are Set to Index

If all your posts are set to noindex, your sitemap will be empty. To check this, go to Rank Math SEO → Titles & Meta and ensure the Index checkbox is enabled for your posts.

4. Flush the Cache

If your sitemap seems outdated, you may need to flush the cache. Go to Rank Math SEO → Sitemap Settings, increase the value of Links Per Sitemap by one, and then save your settings. After that, navigate to Settings → Permalinks and click Save Changes to apply the current settings.

5. Exclude Sitemap From Caching

Ensure that your sitemap is not being cached by any caching plugins. You can refer to this article on ensuring that your sitemaps are excluded from caching.

6. Check for Plugin Conflicts

Sometimes, other plugins can conflict with Rank Math. You can use the Health Check plugin to identify any potential conflicts.

7. Submit Correct Sitemap URL to Google Search Console

Make sure you are submitting the correct version of your sitemap in Google Search Console. It should be added under Indexing → Sitemaps. If you continue to see the "Cannot be Fetched" error, try adding a forward slash before the sitemap URL and resubmit it.

If you’ve gone through these steps and are still experiencing issues, please reply to this ticket with your site URL so we can assist you further. A human agent from our support team will take over and provide more specific guidance.

Thank you for raising this concern! We’re here to help you resolve it.

Sources:
Troubleshooting the “Couldn’t Fetch” Error in Google Search Console » Rank Math
Rank Math Sitemap Issues and Their Fixes » Rank Math