Couldn’t fetch Sitemap – Issue

Hello,

We apologize for the issues you are facing with your sitemap and indexing. It sounds quite frustrating. Here are some steps you can take to troubleshoot the "Couldn’t fetch" error in Google Search Console:

1. Rename the Sitemap File

Sometimes, changing the name of the sitemap file can help. In Google Search Console, navigate to Indexing → Sitemaps and add a new sitemap using the following format:

https://yourdomain.com/?sitemap=1

2. Fix Sitemap Issues

• Validate Your Sitemap: Use the Validate XML Sitemap tool to check if your sitemap is correctly configured.

• Ensure the Sitemap is Located in the Root Folder: Make sure your sitemap is in the root folder of your WordPress installation, like this:
  https://yourdomainname.com/sitemap_index.xml

• Check Post Indexing Settings: Ensure that your posts are set to index. Go to Rank Math SEO → Titles & Meta and enable the Index checkbox.

• Flush the Cache: Increase the value of Links Per Sitemap by one in Rank Math SEO → Sitemap Settings, then save changes. Also, go to Settings → Permalinks and click Save Changes.

3. Add the Correct Version of Your Sitemap to Google Search Console

Make sure you have added the correct URL variation of your site in Google Search Console. You can check this in your WordPress dashboard under Settings → General.

4. Check for Caching Issues

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

5. Favicon Visibility on Google

For the favicon issue, ensure that it is correctly set up in your website’s settings and that it is accessible publicly.

6. Bing Indexing Issues

For Bing, if you are seeing "Discovered but Cannot Crawl," it may be due to similar issues with your sitemap or site accessibility. Ensure that your site is not blocking Bing’s crawlers and that your sitemap is submitted correctly.

If you continue to experience these issues after trying these steps, please reply to this ticket with your site URL so we can assist you further. A human agent will take over from there.

Thank you for raising this concern, and we hope these steps help resolve your issues!

Sources:
Troubleshooting the “Couldn’t Fetch” Error in Google Search Console » Rank Math

Hello,

If a URL is on Google, there is technically no reason for it to not be included in Bing or other search engines, unless they have some reason to not index a page like DMCA, copyright content, nulled content, copied content, etc. which you can check in Webmaster Guidelines set by Bing.

Also, you should run the affected URL/s using the URL inspection tool of your GSC account to know their status.

You can also share the screenshot of the results here so we can check. You can upload screenshots using this tool and add the link here.

Looking forward to helping you.

Hello,

1. If the Live test on Google Search Console shows the URL is available and can be indexed, that means there is no issue with this page and Google can index this.

Since you’ve already requested indexing the page, we suggest you allow Google some time, as it is completely normal for newly published posts/pages to take time before they get crawled or indexed by Google. It depends on a lot of factors. Your posting frequency + the domain authority are just two of the many factors Google considers when indexing some new URLs.

Google assigns a crawl budget to your website depending on these factors (especially these two), and that has a direct effect on how soon or how late your content can get indexed.

2. If you already maintain all the Webmaster Guidelines, please request indexing again. If you face the error again, we suggest you get in touch with the Bing team, and they can help you point out the specific issue.

Let us know how it goes. Looking forward to helping you.

Thank you.