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Why Are My Sitemaps Not Working in Google Search Console? Troubleshooting Common Issues

13 threads Sep 11, 2025 Plugin → Rank math seo

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If you're using the Rank Math SEO plugin, you might sometimes find that your sitemaps aren't behaving as expected in Google Search Console (GSC). This can manifest in several ways: sitemaps not updating, showing incorrect URL counts, or even throwing errors. Based on common community reports, this guide will walk you through the most frequent causes and their solutions.

Common Symptoms of Sitemap Issues

  • New sitemaps (e.g., for a custom taxonomy) not appearing in GSC.
  • The "Discovered URLs" count in GSC is much lower than your actual number of pages.
  • GSC shows a "Temporary processing error" for your sitemap.
  • Only the main sitemap_index.xml is processed, but the individual sitemaps (like post-sitemap.xml) do not appear.
  • Specific content types, like categories or tags, are missing from the sitemap.

Why This Happens: The Core Reasons

These problems are rarely caused by a single factor. More often, it's a combination of how Google crawls your site and how your WordPress installation is configured. The Rank Math SEO plugin generates the sitemap, but external factors like caching and Google's own processing can affect how it's read.

Top Troubleshooting Steps

1. Flush Your Sitemap Cache

The most common fix for missing or outdated sitemap data is to clear the sitemap cache. A cached sitemap will show old information to Google's crawler. The Rank Math SEO team provides a direct method to do this:

  1. Navigate to Rank Math SEO > Status & Tools > Tools in your WordPress dashboard.
  2. Locate the "Delete Sitemap Cache" option and run it.

2. Exclude Sitemaps from Caching

Your caching plugin or server-level cache might be serving an old, cached version of your sitemap.xml files to Google. To prevent this, you must exclude all sitemap URLs from being cached. The exact steps depend on your caching solution (e.g., WP Rocket, W3 Total Cache, Cloudflare), but the general rule is to add the following pattern to your exclusion list:

/*sitemap*

This will ensure that requests to any URL containing "sitemap" are never cached.

3. Check Your Indexing Settings

For a URL to appear in the sitemap, it must be set to "Index." If you have custom post types or taxonomies that are missing, double-check their individual settings:

  1. Go to Rank Math SEO > Titles & Meta.
  2. Select the tab for the relevant post type or taxonomy (e.g., "Categories," "Tags").
  3. Ensure the "Robots Meta" setting is not set to "Noindex."

4. Understand Google's Processing Time

Google does not instantly detect changes to your sitemap. After you update your sitemap or add a new one, it can take from a few days to several weeks for Google Search Console to fully reflect those changes. The "Last read" date in GSC indicates when Google last processed your sitemap. You need to wait for this date to refresh after making your changes.

5. Re-submit Your Sitemap

If you've made significant changes or are troubleshooting an error, try removing the sitemap from your Google Search Console and then re-adding it. This can sometimes prompt Google to re-process it fresh.

When It's a Google-Side Issue

It's important to recognize that some messages, like a "Temporary processing error" in the URL Inspection tool, are generated by Google itself. This indicates an internal Google error that occurred when they tried to process your sitemap during their last crawl. If your sitemap is accessible in a browser and validates, this error typically resolves itself on Google's end after a subsequent crawl.

Conclusion

Sitemap issues in Google Search Console are often resolved by addressing caching conflicts and allowing adequate time for Google to process changes. By methodically working through these steps—clearing cache, excluding sitemaps from caching, verifying indexing settings, and being patient—you can usually get your sitemaps working correctly and ensure all your important content is discovered.

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