Issue with Sitemap Index in Google Search

#1074705
  • Resolved Esprit academique

    2 months, 1 week ago

    Rank Math free

    Dear Support Team,

    I am encountering a recurring issue with my website’s XML sitemap, generated via the Rank Math SEO plugin on WordPress.

    🔧 Problem Description:
    Google Search Console is reporting a parsing error on the sitemap_index.xml file.

    After investigating the sitemap, I noticed that Rank Math is generating relative URLs like ./page-sitemap.xml

    https://espritacademique.com/page-sitemap.xml
    This results in Google being unable to parse the sitemap properly, which prevents indexing of my content.

    However, the incorrect relative URL (./page-sitemap.xml) keeps reappearing in the sitemap index despite all corrections, and causes Google to return XML errors.

    You can view the sitemap here:
    đź”— https://espritacademique.com/sitemap_index.xml

    Thank you very much in advance for your help.

    Best regards,

Viewing 2 replies - 1 through 2 (of 2 total)
  • RankBot

    2 months, 1 week ago

    Hello,

    We apologize for the issue you are facing with your sitemap index in Google Search Console. It sounds like a frustrating situation, and we appreciate you bringing this to our attention.

    To address the parsing error with the sitemap_index.xml, please follow these steps:

    1. Validate Your Sitemap: Use the Validate XML Sitemap tool to check if your sitemap is correctly configured. This can help identify any issues with the sitemap structure.
      An example displaying how to validate a sitemap

    2. Check Sitemap Location: Ensure that your sitemap is located in the root folder of your WordPress installation. The correct URL should be `https://rankmath.com/kb/fix-sitemap-issues/#blank-page.

    3. Flush Permalinks: Sometimes, flushing permalinks can resolve issues with sitemap generation. Go to Settings → Permalinks in your WordPress dashboard and click Save Changes without making any changes.

    4. Check for Plugin Conflicts: There may be a conflict with another plugin. You can use the Health Check plugin to troubleshoot this.

    5. Review Robots.txt: Ensure that your robots.txt file is not blocking access to your sitemap. You can check this in Rank Math SEO → General Settings → robots.txt.

    6. Custom Canonicals: If you have set custom canonical URLs for your posts, it may affect their appearance in the sitemap. Consider removing custom canonicals to allow Rank Math to generate them correctly.

    If these steps do not resolve the issue, we recommend replying to this ticket with any additional details or errors you encounter, and a human agent from the Rank Math Support team will assist you further.

    Thank you for your patience, and we look forward to helping you resolve this issue!

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

    Ike

    2 months, 1 week ago

    Hello,

    Thank you for contacting us and sorry for any inconvenience that this issue might have caused.

    Assuming you are using the latest version of all the plugins and the themes (please update if not yet), it could be caused by a conflict with one of your plugins/theme.

    To determine that, please follow this troubleshooting guide:
    https://rankmath.com/kb/check-plugin-conflicts/

    Only the site admin would know and your users won’t be affected by this troubleshooting.

    Let us know how this goes.

    Thank you.

    RankBot

    1 month ago

    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.

Viewing 2 replies - 1 through 2 (of 2 total)

The ticket ‘Issue with Sitemap Index in Google Search’ is closed to new replies.