seo-sitemap

To validate an XML sitemap, you need to check XML structure, URL HTTP status, lastmod accuracy, and robots.txt references. This process identifies canonical, noindex, and redirect rule mismatches to resolve crawl and index troubleshooting issues.

Generate a new XML sitemap by applying industry templates to build standards-compliant output for pages, posts, images, and videos. This produces a sitemap index with safe splitting and STRUCTURE.md documentation for your site.

Sitemap vs crawled-page mismatch occurs when URLs listed in your XML sitemap do not align with actual crawled pages. You check this by auditing sitemap references against robots.txt rules, canonical tags, and live URL HTTP status.

Yes, you can use a sitemap index to split large XML sitemaps safely. Generating output with a sitemap index structures multiple standards-compliant sitemap files, ensuring search engines can crawl large sites without wasting crawl budget.

The lastmod date in your XML sitemap needs to be accurate because search engines use it to determine crawl frequency and prioritize updated content. Validating lastmod accuracy during an SEO audit prevents indexing problems and wasted crawl budget.

Yes, your robots.txt file should reference your XML sitemap to help search engines discover it. During a sitemap audit, checking robots.txt compatibility ensures your canonical, noindex, and redirect rules align with your site indexing strategy.