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Sitemap Validator: check your XML sitemap for Google

Check your XML sitemap: limits, URLs, lastmod dates, and listed pages that redirect, fail or are noindex.

  • Free to use
  • Nothing to install
  • No sign-up

How to use the Sitemap Validator

Read what the guide says

This is the Sitemap Validator.

It checks your XML sitemap, and opens some of the pages it lists.

Use it after you set up or change a sitemap, before you submit it in Search Console.

Enter your website, or the full address of your sitemap.

Or press Try an example, for a sample sitemap with mistakes on purpose.

Then press Check sitemap. We read it, and open up to 15 of the pages it lists.

You get a score out of a hundred, from our checklist, not a Google measure.

The tiles show the format, the URLs listed, the newest date, and how many pages we opened.

This box lists what to fix first.

Here, one entry is not a full URL, and one listed page asks to stay out of search.

Below, every check is grouped, from the file itself to the pages opened.

Here, one date is in the future. Google uses lastmod only when it's consistently accurate.

Of the pages opened, one redirects, and one has a noindex tag.

A sitemap should list only the final address of each page you want in search.

Open How to fix to see why it matters, the steps and the entries affected.

Here, /contact should be a full address, starting with https:// and the domain.

Fix the sitemap, check it again, then submit it in Search Console.

You can also email yourself a PDF of the result.

Your website (we find the sitemap from robots.txt) or the sitemap's full address, such as https://example.com/sitemap.xml.

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About the Sitemap Validator

Enter your website, or the full address of your sitemap. We find the sitemap from robots.txt or the usual places, read it (or the sitemaps in an index), and check it against the sitemaps protocol and Google's guidelines: valid XML, at most 50,000 URLs, full URLs on your own site, W3C lastmod dates that look real, and no repeats. We then open a sample of the listed pages to find any that redirect, return an error, carry noindex or point their canonical link elsewhere.

How it works

  1. Step 1

    Enter your website, or the sitemap's address if it is not listed in robots.txt.

  2. Step 2

    We read the sitemap and open up to 15 of the pages it lists.

  3. Step 3

    Fix what is flagged, then submit the sitemap in Google Search Console under Indexing, then Sitemaps.

What Google reads

Google accepts XML sitemaps, RSS and Atom feeds and text files, each with up to 50,000 URLs or 50 MB uncompressed; larger sites split them and list the parts in a sitemap index. URLs must be full addresses. Google ignores priority and changefreq, and uses lastmod only when it is consistently and verifiably accurate.

Which URLs to list

List the URLs you want shown in search: the final, canonical address of each page. Our checklist flags listed URLs that redirect, return errors, carry noindex or have a canonical link to another address, because each sends a mixed message. Google can find pages without a sitemap; it helps most on large or new sites.

What this tool cannot do

It reads sitemap files up to 2 MB and the first 5 sitemaps of an index, and opens up to 15 of the listed pages, not all of them. It cannot see which URLs Google has indexed or what errors Google found: the Sitemaps and Page indexing reports in Search Console show those.

Frequently asked questions

Where is my sitemap?

Most sites list it in robots.txt with a "Sitemap:" line, and this tool looks there first. Common places are /sitemap.xml and /sitemap_index.xml (made by Yoast SEO); WordPress's own sitemap is at /wp-sitemap.xml, and Shopify and Wix make /sitemap.xml. If yours is somewhere else, enter its full address.

How many URLs can a sitemap have?

Up to 50,000 URLs, and up to 50 MB uncompressed, per file. A larger site splits its URLs into several sitemaps and lists them in a sitemap index, which can list up to 50,000 sitemaps. Submit the index in Search Console. You can gzip each file; the limits apply to the uncompressed size.

Does Google use priority and changefreq?

No. Google says it ignores the priority and changefreq values. It uses lastmod when the dates are consistently and verifiably accurate, so set lastmod to when each page's main content last changed, not the date the sitemap was generated. Priority and changefreq do no harm, so they can stay.

Should noindex or redirected pages be in my sitemap?

No. A sitemap should list the URLs you want shown in search. A page with noindex asks to be left out, so listing it sends a mixed message, and Search Console Help asks you to replace redirecting URLs with their final addresses. Leave out pages that return errors as well.

How do I submit a sitemap to Google?

In Google Search Console, open Indexing, then Sitemaps, enter the sitemap's address and submit it. Also add a "Sitemap:" line with its full address to robots.txt, so every search engine can find it. Google retired its old sitemap ping address in 2023, so use Search Console or robots.txt instead.

Related reading

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