Hello, we apologize for the issue you are facing with your sitemap showing 404 errors and being empty.
Here are some steps you can take to troubleshoot and resolve the issue:
-
Validate Your Sitemap: Use the Validate XML Sitemap tool to check if your sitemap is correctly configured. This can help identify any issues with the sitemap structure.
![An example displaying how to validate a sitemap](https://rankmath.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/An-example-displaying-how-to-validate-a-sitemap-2.png)
-
Ensure Your Posts Are Set to Index: If all your posts are set to noindex, your sitemap will appear empty. Go to Rank Math SEO → Titles & Meta and ensure that the Index checkbox is enabled for your posts.
![Index Titles and Meta settings](https://rankmath.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Index-titles-and-meta-settings.png)
-
Check for Plugin Conflicts: Sometimes, other plugins can conflict with Rank Math. You can use the Health Check plugin to identify any conflicts.
-
Check Your Robots.txt File: 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.
-
Flush Cache: If you are using a caching plugin, try flushing the cache and excluding the sitemap from caching to see if that resolves the issue.
-
Check for Static Files: Make sure there are no static files named sitemap_index.xml
, post-sitemap.xml
, or category-sitemap.xml
in your server that could be causing conflicts. If they exist, consider removing them.
If these steps do not resolve the issue, please reply to this ticket, and a human agent from the Rank Math Support team will assist you further.
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 contacting us and sorry for any inconvenience that might have been caused due to that.
We checked your sitemap and we can see it is working properly without any issues:
![](https://i.rankmath.com/i/FLCkz0+)
Also, your post and category sitemaps are working as expected:
![](https://i.rankmath.com/i/wziBtj+)
![](https://i.rankmath.com/i/NMyNWo+)
Please note that Rank Math only includes your posts/pages when it is set to index and has a self-referencing canonical URL.
Hope that helps and please don’t hesitate to let us know if you have any other questions.
Â
Thank 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.