Validate an XML sitemap or sitemap index, count entries, detect duplicate URLs and find common XML, URL and lastmod issues.
It checks whether the sitemap can be fetched, validates its XML structure, recognizes URL sitemaps and sitemap indexes, counts entries, detects duplicate URLs, missing or invalid loc values, invalid lastmod dates and the standard 50,000-entry limit.
Check an XML sitemap URL and inspect whether the sitemap can be accessed and parsed as expected. Sitemaps provide search engines with a structured list of URLs that site owners want crawlers to discover and consider.
An XML sitemap is a machine-readable file that lists site URLs. Larger sites can use sitemap index files to reference multiple individual sitemaps. Search engines can use these files as a discovery source alongside normal crawlable links.
Make sure the sitemap is accessible, uses the correct preferred URLs and does not intentionally list pages that redirect, return errors or should remain excluded from search. Keep sitemap URLs consistent with your canonical and internal-linking strategy where appropriate.
Submitting or listing a URL in a sitemap helps discovery but does not force a search engine to index that page. Crawl access, canonical signals, page quality and search-engine processing still matter.
Not necessarily, but a sitemap can be especially useful for larger, newer or complex websites.
No. Search engines decide which discovered URLs are ultimately indexed.