Sitemap not working

Hello,

We apologize for the issue you are facing with your Sitemap not working. Here are some steps you can take to troubleshoot and potentially resolve the issue:

1. Validate Your Sitemap

Make sure your sitemap is correctly configured. You can use the Validate XML Sitemap tool to check for any issues. If your sitemap is valid, it should return a "No issues detected" message.

2. Ensure the Sitemap is Located in the Root Folder

Your sitemap should be located in the root folder of your WordPress installation. The URL should look like this:

https://rankmath.com/kb/fix-sitemap-issues/#blank-page

3. Check Indexing Settings

Ensure that your posts are set to index. Go to Rank Math SEO → Titles & Meta and make sure the Index checkbox is enabled in the Robots Meta settings.

4. Check Server Configuration

If you are using an Apache or Nginx server, you may need to add specific rewrite rules to your server configuration. For Apache, add the following 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

For Nginx, add this to your config file:

# START Nginx Rewrites for Rank Math Sitemaps
rewrite ^/sitemap_index.xml$ /index.php?sitemap=1 last;
rewrite ^/([^/]+?)-sitemap([0-9]+)?.xml$ /index.php?sitemap=$1&sitemap_n=$2 last;
rewrite ^/([a-z]+)?-sitemap.xsl$ /index.php?xsl=$1 last;
# END Nginx Rewrites for Rank Math Sitemaps

5. Resubmit Your Sitemap in Google Search Console

If you’ve made changes, go back to Google Search Console and resubmit your sitemap. Make sure there are no spaces in the URL and try adding a forward slash before the sitemap URL if needed.

If you continue to experience issues after trying these steps, we recommend replying to this ticket with your site URL so that a human agent from our support team can assist you further. Thank you for raising this concern!

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