XML Sitemap Checker & Validator
Sitemap Finder & Checker
Enter your domain or sitemap URL — we'll find and validate it. 28 checks from invalid XML to noindex pages, redirects, and robots.txt conflicts.
Enter your domain and we'll find your sitemap automatically, or paste a direct sitemap URL.
What each XML sitemap tag does
<loc> Required The full absolute URL of the page — including protocol and domain.
Google: Always used. Must be unique across the sitemap.
<lastmod> Optional The date the page content last changed, in ISO 8601 format (YYYY-MM-DD or YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ss±hh:mm).
Google: Used to prioritise crawling — but only when accurate. Google ignores lastmod when it detects inflated or fake dates.
<changefreq> Optional How often the page is expected to change. Allowed values: always, hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, yearly, never.
Google: Largely ignored. Google determines crawl frequency from its own crawling data, not this hint.
<priority> Optional A 0.0–1.0 value indicating the relative importance of this URL compared to others on your site. Default is 0.5.
Google: Largely ignored. Only meaningful as a relative signal — if everything is 1.0, nothing is prioritised.
<urlset> Required The root element of a standard sitemap file. Must declare the sitemap namespace.
Google: Required. Without the correct xmlns attribute, crawlers may not recognise the file as a valid sitemap.
<sitemapindex> Optional The root element of a sitemap index file — a sitemap that lists other sitemaps instead of individual URLs.
Google: Used when you have more than 50,000 URLs or want to organise by section.
What should NOT be in your sitemap
✗ Noindex pages
A page with a noindex directive is telling search engines not to index it. Including it in your sitemap sends a contradictory signal and wastes crawl budget on pages you've explicitly excluded.
✗ Redirect URLs (301/302)
Sitemaps should contain canonical destination URLs only. If a URL in your sitemap redirects, Google follows the redirect — which wastes crawl budget and can confuse indexing signals. Update the sitemap to point to the final URL.
✗ Non-self canonical pages
If a page canonicalises to a different URL, Google treats the declared canonical as the 'real' page. Including the alias in your sitemap (rather than the canonical) creates a conflict. Only include canonical URLs.
✗ Paginated pages
Paginated series (/category/page/2/, /category/page/3/) typically shouldn't be in sitemaps unless each page is genuinely indexable and valuable. Google's crawlers navigate pagination through links.
✗ Thin or duplicate content
Tag archives, author pages, and parameter-generated URLs are often thin content. Including them dilutes your sitemap's signal quality and directs crawl budget away from your important pages.
✗ URLs with HTTP instead of HTTPS
If your site runs on HTTPS (it should), your sitemap URLs must use HTTPS too. Mixing protocols confuses crawlers about which version is canonical and can lead to duplicate indexing.
We check all of this automatically
The SEO Quality column flags noindex conflicts, redirect URLs, non-self canonicals, and more — for every URL in your sitemap. Sign up to unlock full URL-level checks.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Google use the priority and changefreq tags? ▾
No — Google has publicly stated it ignores both <priority> and <changefreq>. The only tag Google actively uses is <lastmod>, and only when it is accurate. Setting all your URLs to priority 1.0 or changefreq 'always' has no effect on crawling.
How often should I update my sitemap? ▾
Update your sitemap whenever you publish, significantly update, or delete a page. Only change <lastmod> when the page content actually changes — inflating dates is the fake lastmod problem Google now penalises.
What is a sitemap index? ▾
A sitemap index is a sitemap that lists other sitemaps rather than individual URLs. Use one when you have more than 50,000 URLs or want to organise URLs by section (blog, products, news). Each child sitemap can hold up to 50,000 URLs.
Does my sitemap need to be at /sitemap.xml? ▾
No. Your sitemap can live at any URL, but it must be declared in your robots.txt with a 'Sitemap:' directive so crawlers can discover it. Common locations are /sitemap.xml, /sitemap_index.xml, and /wp-sitemap.xml.
Can I have multiple sitemaps? ▾
Yes. Use a sitemap index at your root URL that lists individual sitemaps. Declare only the index URL in robots.txt — crawlers will discover the children automatically.
How do I find my XML sitemap? ▾
Enter your domain in the tool above and we'll locate it automatically. We check your robots.txt for declared sitemap URLs and probe common sitemap locations used by WordPress, Shopify, and other platforms.
Where is my sitemap located? ▾
Most sites publish their sitemap at /sitemap.xml or /sitemap_index.xml. WordPress sites using Yoast SEO use /sitemap_index.xml. Shopify uses /sitemap.xml. You can also check your robots.txt file — if a sitemap is configured, it will have a 'Sitemap:' line near the top.