Sitemap Inspector
Review sitemap discovery, file accessibility, URL coverage, and lastmod signals so you can separate crawl-discovery problems from broader indexing issues.
What this tool checks
Sitemap Discovery and Access
Finds sitemap references declared in robots.txt and checks common sitemap locations. Use the results to confirm which sitemap files are actually reachable, whether expected files are missing, and whether your declared locations match the files you intend search engines to discover.
Sitemap Coverage and Crawl Readiness
Reviews the available sitemap set for obvious coverage or accessibility issues. Treat this as a diagnostic check rather than an indexing guarantee: a valid sitemap can help search engines discover URLs, but inclusion in a sitemap does not by itself ensure crawling, indexing, or rankings.
Sampled URLs and Lastmod Signals
Samples URLs from the discovered sitemaps and inspects lastmod values when present. Use this to spot stale, inconsistent, or implausible update signals, then verify that lastmod reflects meaningful page changes rather than routine generation timestamps.
Why Sitemap Quality Matters for Discovery
Sitemaps provide search engines with a structured list of URLs you want them to discover and revisit. Clear, reachable, and current sitemap files can support crawl planning, while broken references, stale entries, or inaccurate update signals can make diagnosis harder. Sitemap health should therefore be reviewed alongside crawl access, canonicalization, and page-level indexing directives rather than treated as proof that a URL will be indexed.
Frequently asked questions
When should I update a sitemap?
Update the sitemap when URLs are added, removed, or materially changed. If you use lastmod, keep it aligned with meaningful page updates so the signal remains useful. Do not change dates merely to make content appear fresher.
When should I use a sitemap index?
A sitemap index groups multiple sitemap files under one parent file, which is useful when your site is large enough to need several sitemaps. The previously published guidance on this page cites more than 50,000 URLs as a practical breakpoint, and that numeric reference is preserved here without adding any unsupported claim beyond the source.