Empty Sitemaps

Hello,

We apologize for the issue you are facing with your empty sitemaps. It can be frustrating when everything was working fine before. Here are some steps you can take to troubleshoot the issue:

1. Validate Your Sitemap

First, confirm that your sitemap is correctly configured. You can use the Validate XML Sitemap tool. Enter your sitemap URL and click VALIDATE SITEMAP. If there are no issues detected, it should return a success message.

2. Ensure the Sitemap is Located in the Root Folder

Make sure your sitemap is located in the root folder of your WordPress installation. The correct URL format should be:

https://rankmath.com/kb/exclude-sitemaps-from-caching/

3. Check Post Indexing Settings

If all your posts are set to noindex, your sitemap will appear empty. To check this, go to Rank Math SEO → Titles & Meta and ensure that the Index checkbox is enabled for your posts. After making any changes, remember to click Save Changes.

4. Flush the Sitemap Cache Again

You may also want to flush the sitemap cache again by going to Rank Math SEO → Sitemap Settings, adjusting the Links Per Sitemap field (e.g., change it to 201), and then clicking Save Changes. After that, navigate to Settings → Permalinks and click Save Changes again.

5. Exclude Sitemaps from Caching

Ensure that your sitemaps are excluded from caching. You can refer to this article on how to exclude sitemaps from caching.

If you have tried all these steps and are still experiencing issues, please reply to this ticket with your site URL so that a human agent from our support team can assist you further.

Thank you for raising this concern, and we hope these steps help resolve the issue!

Sources:
Troubleshooting the “Couldn’t Fetch” Error in Google Search Console » Rank Math
How To Exclude Rank Math Sitemaps from Caching » Rank Math
Rank Math Sitemap Issues and Their Fixes » Rank Math