Sitemap file returns an error
sitemap_fetch_errorShort answer
A sitemap URL that is declared in robots.txt, registered in Search Console or referenced from a sitemap index returned something other than 200 (404, 500, a redirect chain, a timeout) or could not be parsed as XML. This issue affects whether Google can find the page or add it to its index. Make sure the sitemap URL returns 200 and is valid XML.
Why it matters
A broken sitemap is worse than none: search engines keep trying it, report errors in Search Console, and the URLs it should have carried are not discovered. A sitemap index that references a broken child silently loses that whole section.
How Glimana detects it
The rule lists every sitemap record whose last fetch status is not 200, with the URL and the status.
How to fix it
- Open the URL in a browser. A 404 means the path changed (plugin switch, new generator); a 500 usually means the generator times out on a large site; a redirect means the host or scheme in the declaration is outdated.
- Fix or re-declare. Update the
Sitemap:line in robots.txt and the Search Console submission to the working URL, or fix the generator. - Validate the XML (a stray
&in a URL must be&; the file must start with the XML declaration, no BOM or whitespace before it).
After switching SEO plugins, the old /sitemap.xml path often 404s while the new plugin serves /sitemap_index.xml. Update robots.txt and Search Console. A 500 on large sites: raise the plugin's "max entries per sitemap" or enable its sitemap cache.
Shopify's sitemap rarely errors; check that the declared URL uses the primary domain and HTTPS.
Generate to a static file on a schedule rather than on request if generation is slow; return Content-Type: application/xml; split with an index when over 50,000 URLs.
How the fix is verified
Re-crawl; the task closes when the listed sitemap URLs return 200 and parse.