Loading…
Find your sitemap, count URLs, validate the format, and catch indexing problems in seconds. Works with standard XML sitemaps, sitemap indexes, and news or image sitemaps.
🗺️ Try the free XML Sitemap Checker →An XML sitemap checker fetches and validates the sitemap file(s) for any domain, then analyzes the structure, URL count, and metadata to identify potential indexing problems. A sitemap is an XML file that tells search engines which pages exist on your site, when they were last updated, and how important they are relative to each other.
While Google can discover pages by crawling your site, submitting a sitemap ensures Googlebot doesn't miss new or updated content. The sitemap checker verifies that your sitemap is accessible, correctly formatted, uses valid XML, includes proper lastmod dates, and is discoverable via the standard /sitemap.xml path or your robots.txt.
Try the free XML Sitemap Checker
No login required. Results in seconds.
Without a sitemap, Googlebot must crawl internal links to discover new pages. A well-maintained sitemap shortens discovery time from days or weeks to hours, especially for new domains or pages that lack inbound links.
The lastmod attribute tells Google when a page was last updated. When Googlebot sees a fresh lastmod date, it prioritizes recrawling that page. Sites without lastmod dates get recrawled based on historical patterns only, which means updated content may take longer to be re-indexed.
Sites with more than 50,000 URLs need a sitemap index file that points to multiple individual sitemaps. Without this structure, a single sitemap file hits Google's 50MB or 50,000 URL limit, and excess pages simply aren't submitted.
Including redirected URLs, noindex pages, or non-canonical URLs in your sitemap sends mixed signals to Googlebot. A sitemap should only contain canonical, indexable, 200-status pages. The checker identifies these mismatches.
Type your domain (e.g., https://yoursite.com). The tool auto-discovers your sitemap by checking /sitemap.xml and parsing your robots.txt for the Sitemap: directive.
See the total URL count, sitemap file size, whether it's a sitemap index or standalone file, and whether it was found via robots.txt or direct access.
The tool shows how many URLs are missing lastmod attributes and flags sitemaps where the dates are clearly wrong (e.g., future dates, or dates identical across all pages suggesting auto-generation without real data).
After correcting sitemap issues, resubmit your sitemap URL in Google Search Console (Indexing → Sitemaps) to trigger a fresh crawl.
No account needed · Instant results
Most CMS platforms generate sitemaps automatically. WordPress: install Yoast SEO or Rank Math. Shopify: sitemap.xml is built-in at /sitemap.xml. Next.js: add a sitemap.ts file in the /app directory. For custom sites, generate a sitemap programmatically or use an online sitemap generator. Always include only canonical, indexable, 200-status URLs.
No, but it's strongly recommended. Google can crawl a site without a sitemap, but a sitemap guarantees that all important pages are submitted for crawling. For sites with more than a few hundred pages, a sitemap is essentially mandatory to ensure complete indexation.
Yes, this is a significant issue. URLs in your sitemap that return 404 (Not Found) or 301/302 (redirects) errors waste your crawl budget and send confusing signals to Google. Regularly audit your sitemap to remove deleted pages and update redirected URLs to their final destinations.
Whenever you publish new content or make significant changes to existing pages. Most CMS platforms regenerate the sitemap automatically. For large sites, consider pinging Google by updating your sitemap submission in Google Search Console after major content pushes.
No account required. Works on any public URL. Results in seconds.
Open free XML Sitemap Checker →