Sitemap Error

Hello,

We apologize for the issue you are facing with your sitemap. The error message ‘Sitemap cannot be read’ with a ‘General HTTP error’ – 404 indicates that Google is unable to access your sitemap.

Here are a few steps you can take to resolve this issue:

1. Flush Permalinks: Sometimes, simply saving the permalinks can resolve 404 errors. Go to your WordPress dashboard, navigate to Settings → Permalinks, and click Save Changes without making any changes. This action can refresh the permalink structure.

2. Check Sitemap URL: Ensure that you are submitting the correct sitemap URL to Google Search Console. The correct URL should be `https://rankmath.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Index-titles-and-meta-settings.png.

3. Validate Your Sitemap: Use the Validate XML Sitemap tool to check if your sitemap is correctly configured. If there are issues, it will provide details on what needs to be fixed.

4. Check for Plugin Conflicts: Sometimes, other plugins can interfere with the sitemap functionality. You can use the Health Check plugin to identify any potential conflicts.

5. Clear Cache: If you are using a caching plugin, make sure to clear your website cache. This can help ensure that the latest version of your sitemap is being served.

6. Check 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.

After performing these steps, try resubmitting your sitemap in Google Search Console again. If the issue persists, please reply to this ticket, and a human agent from the Rank Math Support team will assist you further.

Thank you for raising this concern!

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

Hello,

Thank you for contacting us. We apologize for any inconvenience this issue may have caused.

Please follow the steps below for initial troubleshooting:

1. Flush the Sitemap cache by following this video screencast:
https://i.rankmath.com/pipRDp

2. Exclude the Sitemap files of the Rank Math plugin in your caching plugin. The cache could be via a plugin or from the server. For plugins or Cloudflare, please follow this article: https://rankmath.com/kb/exclude-sitemaps-from-caching/

We checked your sitemap on https://httpstatus.io/ and upon checking we were shown a “403 Forbidden” error. If the issue persists after the above steps and they still have a 403 status you can refer to the following suggestions.

– A “403 Forbidden” error on your sitemap URL can be caused by a variety of issues related to permissions, server configuration, or security plugins that may be restricting access.

– Could you please confirm if you’re using Cloudflare? If yes then there are chances that it may block some requests.
You can follow this guide to Whitelist Rank Math in Cloudflare
https://rankmath.com/kb/whitelist-rank-math-in-cloudflare/

– If you have security plugins installed on your WordPress site, they might be blocking access to the sitemap. If it does, you’ll need to adjust the plugin’s settings to allow access to the sitemap URL.

– Some hosting providers may have server-level configurations or security measures that block access to XML files or specific URLs. Contact your hosting provider to ensure there are no such restrictions in place.

Let us know how it goes. Looking forward to helping you.

Thank you.

Hello,

You can delete the previously submitted sitemap and submit only the main sitemap /sitemap_index.xml again to Google Search Console.

For reference see: https://rankmath.com/kb/submit-sitemap-to-google/

We hope that helps.

Thanks.