Hello,
We apologize for the issue you are facing with your sitemap not being recognized by Google Search Console. It sounds like you’ve already taken some great steps to troubleshoot the problem. Here are a few additional suggestions that may help resolve the "Couldn’t fetch" error:
1. Validate Your Sitemap
Make sure your sitemap is correctly configured. You can validate it using the Validate XML Sitemap tool. If there are any issues, this tool will help identify them.
2. Check Sitemap Location
Ensure that your sitemap is located in the root folder of your WordPress installation. The correct URL should look like this:
`https://support.rankmath.com
3. Ensure Posts Are Set to Index
Check that your posts are set to index. Go to Rank Math SEO → Titles & Meta and ensure the Index checkbox is enabled for your posts.
4. Exclude Sitemap From Caching
Make sure your sitemap is not being cached by any caching plugins. You can refer to this article on how to ensure that your sitemaps are excluded from caching.
5. Check Robots.txt File
Verify 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. Rename the Sitemap File
Sometimes, renaming the sitemap file can help. In Google Search Console, try submitting:
`https://support.rankmath.com
7. Wait for Google to Fetch
If everything seems correct but the error persists, it might be a temporary issue on Google’s end. Sometimes, it takes a while for Google to fetch the sitemap.
If you continue to experience issues after trying these steps, we recommend replying to this ticket with any updates or additional details, and a human agent from our support team will assist you further.
Thank you for raising this concern, and we hope these steps help resolve the issue!
Sources:
Troubleshooting the “Couldn’t Fetch” Error in Google Search Console » Rank Math
Rank Math Sitemap Issues and Their Fixes » Rank Math
Hello,
Thank you for your query and we are so sorry about the trouble this must have caused.
We checked your sitemaps. They seem to be loading fine and they don’t load that slow as well.
Please follow the steps below:
1. 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/
2.. Apply the following filter code to your site.
add_filter( 'rank_math/sitemap/enable_caching', '__return_false');
Here’s how you can add filter to your WordPress site:https://rankmath.com/kb/wordpress-hooks-actions-filters/
3. Remove all your sitemaps from your Google Search Console and re-submit only the index sitemap (https://website.com/sitemap_index.xml)
If the issue persists, please click on the detailed sitemap error from your Google Search Console and take a full screenshot of it and share it here using this tool: https://imgur.com/upload
Looking forward to helping you.
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.
