My sitemap is suddenly de indexed

Hello,

We apologize for the issue you are facing with your sitemap being de-indexed and showing a "not found" error. Here are some steps you can take to troubleshoot this issue:

1. Check if Your Sitemap is Accessible: Use a tool like httpstatus.io to check if your sitemap URL is accessible. This will help identify any issues preventing access by Googlebot.
   

2. Validate Your Sitemap: You can validate your sitemap using the Validate XML Sitemap tool. Enter your sitemap URL and click VALIDATE SITEMAP to check for any configuration issues.
   

3. Ensure the Sitemap is Located in the Root Folder: Make sure that your sitemap is correctly located in the root folder of your WordPress installation. The URL should look like this: `https://rankmath.com/kb/wordpress-hooks-actions-filters/#rank-math-php-file.

4. Check for Caching Issues: Sometimes, server-level caching can affect the sitemap. You may need to exclude sitemaps from caching. You can refer to our tutorial on how to exclude Sitemaps from caching.

5. Check .htaccess or Nginx Configuration: If you are using Apache or Nginx, ensure that the necessary rewrite rules are added to your server configuration. For Apache, you can add the following code 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

If these steps do not resolve the issue, we recommend replying to this ticket so a human agent from the Rank Math Support team can assist you further. Thank you for bringing this concern to our attention!

Sources:
Indexed, Not Submitted in Sitemap – Google Search Console » Rank Math
Troubleshooting the “Couldn’t Fetch” Error in Google Search Console » Rank Math
Rank Math Sitemap Issues and Their Fixes » Rank Math
Why the Sitemap_Index.xml is Throwing a 404 Error » Rank Math