Missing Category and Posts in Sitemap

#1096323
  • Resolved Muhammad Haris

    1 month, 3 weeks ago

    Rank Math free

    Hello Rank Math Support,

    I am facing an issue with my sitemap.

    Missing Category:

    My website currently has 4 post categories, but only 3 are appearing in the category-sitemap.xml.

    The missing category is “Birthstones”, which has 1 published post assigned to it.

    The category is set to Index and Include in Sitemap = Yes in Rank Math.

    Missing Posts:

    I have published 10 blog posts, but only 7 appear in the post-sitemap.xml.

    The 3 missing posts are published, visible on the site, and set to Index in Rank Math.

    None of them are set to “noindex,” and they are assigned to regular categories.

    Steps I’ve Already Tried:

    Cleared all caches (site, plugin, and CDN).

    Re-saved permalinks.

    Regenerated the sitemap by disabling/enabling it.

    Checked Rank Math advanced settings for posts and categories.

    Despite this, the issue persists:

    The Birthstones category doesn’t appear in the category sitemap.

    3 posts don’t appear in the post sitemap.

    Website URL: https://thecrystalslibrary.com

    Category URL: https://thecrystalslibrary.com/category/birthstones/

    Post sitemap URL : https://thecrystalslibrary.com/post-sitemap.xml

    Could you please investigate why the category and posts are not showing in the sitemap, and guide me on how to resolve this?

    Thank you!

    Best regards,
    Muhammad Haris

Viewing 4 replies - 1 through 4 (of 4 total)
  • RankBot

    1 month, 3 weeks ago

    Hello,

    We apologize for the issue you are facing with your sitemap. Thank you for providing detailed information about the missing category and posts.

    Here are a few things you can check to resolve the issue:

    1. Check Category Settings: Ensure that the missing category "Birthstones" is not set to exclude from the sitemap. You can verify this by going to Rank Math SEO → Sitemap Settings and checking the settings for categories.

    2. Check Post Visibility: Make sure that the missing posts are not set to private or draft status. They should be published and publicly visible.

    3. Check for Plugin Conflicts: Sometimes, other plugins can interfere with the sitemap generation. You can use the Health Check plugin to check for any conflicts.

    4. Flush Permalinks Again: Although you’ve already done this, it can sometimes help to do it again after making any changes. Go to Settings → Permalinks and click “Save Changes” without making any changes.

    5. Custom Canonicals: If you have set custom canonical URLs for any of the missing posts, they may not appear in the sitemap. Ensure that there are no custom canonicals set for those posts.

    6. Check Robots.txt: Ensure that your robots.txt file is not blocking access to the category or post URLs. You can check this in Rank Math SEO → General Settings → robots.txt.

    If you have checked all these settings and the issue still persists, we recommend replying to this ticket so a human agent from our support team can assist you further with a more in-depth investigation.

    Thank you for your patience, and we hope to resolve this issue for you soon!

    Sources:
    How to Configure Sitemaps in Rank Math – Best Settings and Tips

    Reinelle

    1 month, 3 weeks ago

    Hello,

    In this case, please check this guide for some common reasons why a URL is not included in the sitemap:
    https://rankmath.com/kb/url-not-in-sitemap/

    Also, head over to your website files /uploads/rankmath/, and delete any XML files from that path.

    If the issue persists, we might need to take a closer look at the settings. Please edit the first post on this ticket and include your WordPress & FTP logins in the designated Sensitive Data section.

    Please do take a complete backup of your website before sharing the information with us.

    Sensitive Data Section

    It is completely secure and only our support staff has access to that section. If you want, you can use the below plugin to generate a temporary login URL to your website and share that with us instead:

    https://wordpress.org/plugins/temporary-login-without-password/

    You can use the above plugin in conjunction with the WP Security Audit Log to monitor what changes our staff might make on your website (if any):

    https://wordpress.org/plugins/wp-security-audit-log/

    We really look forward to helping you.

    Muhammad Haris

    1 month, 3 weeks ago

    Rank Math free

    Hello,

    Thank you for your reply. I have already checked the points you mentioned:

    The category and posts are set to “Index” (confirmed in Rank Math settings and database).

    Posts are published and public.

    Troubleshooting mode was tested with only Rank Math + default Twenty Twenty-Four theme, the issue persists.

    Permalinks flushed again, no change.

    No custom canonicals set.

    Robots.txt is not blocking these URLs.

    Despite this, new categories and posts (e.g., “Birthstones” and recent posts) are still missing from the sitemap, even when using ?nocache=1.

    This issue is affecting multiple new posts and categories, not just one. It seems Rank Math is failing to add new content to the sitemap altogether.

    Could you please escalate this ticket to a human support agent for further investigation?

    Thank you.

    Reinelle

    1 month, 3 weeks ago

    Hello,

    It seems that you have missed our reply above.

    Please share your WordPress and FTP logins in the sensitive data section so we can investigate this issue further.

    Looking forward to helping you.

    RankBot

    3 weeks 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 4 replies - 1 through 4 (of 4 total)

The ticket ‘Missing Category and Posts in Sitemap’ is closed to new replies.