Inside the sitemap /sitemap_index.xml include the individual sitemaps

Hello, we apologize for the issue you are facing with your sitemap and indexing on Google. It seems that your sitemap index at /sitemap_index.xml is not including the individual sitemaps, which can indeed affect how Google indexes your pages.

To troubleshoot this issue, please follow these steps:

1. Check Sitemap Settings: Ensure that the Sitemap module is enabled in your Rank Math settings. You can do this by navigating to Rank Math > Sitemap Settings in your WordPress dashboard.

2. Verify Sitemap URL: Visit your sitemap index URL directly in your browser (e.g., `https://rankmath.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Manual-Action.png) to see if it displays the individual sitemaps. If it does not, there may be a configuration issue.

3. Check for Errors: Use the Google Search Console to check for any errors related to your sitemap. Look under the Sitemaps section to see if there are any reported issues.

4. Rewrite Rules: If you are using an Apache or Nginx server, ensure that the appropriate rewrite rules are set up correctly. For Apache, you can add the following rules to your .htaccess file:

   # START of Rank Math Sitemap Rewrite Rules
   RewriteEngine On
   RewriteBase /
   RewriteRule ^sitemap_index.xml$ /index.php?sitemap=1 [L]
   RewriteRule ^([^/]+?)-sitemap([0-9]+)?.xml$ /index.php?sitemap=$1&sitemap_n=$2 [L]
   RewriteRule ^([a-z]+)?-?sitemap.xsl$ /index.php?xsl=$1 [L]
   # END of Rank Math Sitemap Rewrite Rules

   For Nginx, you can add:

   # START Nginx Rewrites for Rank Math Sitemaps
   rewrite ^/sitemap_index.xml$ /index.php?sitemap=1 last;
   rewrite ^/([^/]+?)-sitemap([0-9]+)?.xml$ /index.php?sitemap=$1&sitemap_n=$2 last;
   rewrite ^/([a-z]+)?-sitemap.xsl$ /index.php?xsl=$1 last;
   # END Nginx Rewrites for Rank Math Sitemaps

5. Resubmit Sitemap: After making any changes, resubmit your sitemap index in Google Search Console. Go to the Sitemaps section, enter sitemap_index.xml, and click Submit.

If after following these steps the issue persists, please reply to this ticket with any error messages you see in Google Search Console or any additional details about your setup, and a human agent from our support team will assist you further. Thank you for raising this concern!

Sources:
How to Submit a Sitemap to Google » Rank Math
Rank Math Sitemap Issues and Their Fixes » Rank Math
Why Did My Website Disappear From Google Search? » Rank Math