Sitemap Help

Hello,

We apologize for the issue you are facing with your sitemap in Google Search Console. The "couldn’t fetch" error can occur for a few reasons, and it may not necessarily mean that there is a problem with your sitemap. Here are some steps you can take to troubleshoot this issue:

1. Validate Your Sitemap: Ensure that your sitemap is correctly configured by using the Validate XML Sitemap tool. If it returns a success message, your sitemap is likely fine.
   

2. Check Sitemap Location: Make sure your sitemap is located in the root folder of your WordPress installation. The URL should look like this: https://yourdomainname.com/sitemap_index.xml.

3. Ensure Posts Are Set to Index: If all your posts are set to noindex, your posts sitemap will be empty. Go to Rank Math SEO → Titles & Meta and ensure the Index checkbox is enabled for your posts.
   

4. Flush the Cache: If your sitemap appears outdated, navigate to Rank Math SEO → Sitemap Settings, increase the value of Links Per Sitemap by one, and save changes. Then go to Settings → Permalinks and click Save Changes again.
   
   

5. Add the Correct Sitemap to Google Search Console: Ensure you are submitting the correct version of your sitemap in Google Search Console. You can try adding a forward slash before the sitemap URL if you haven’t already.
   

If you’ve followed these steps and are still encountering the "couldn’t fetch" error, it may just be that Google has not yet fetched your posts sitemap. Sometimes, it can take a little longer for Google to process new sitemaps.

If you continue to experience issues, please reply to this ticket with your site URL so we can assist you further. Thank you for raising this concern!

Sources:
Troubleshooting the “Couldn’t Fetch” Error in Google Search Console » Rank Math