How to Check an XML Sitemap (Including Indexes)

An XML sitemap lists the URLs you want search engines to discover. Large sites often use a sitemap index that points to child sitemaps instead of listing every page in one file.

What to verify

• The sitemap URL returns valid XML (urlset or sitemapindex)
• Child sitemaps in an index are reachable on the same host
• Page URLs expand without silent truncation for your use case
• robots.txt declares a Sitemap: line pointing at the right file

Check it free

Open the XML Sitemap Checker (or the marketing page) and paste your sitemap URL — for example https://yoursite.com/sitemap.xml.

SeoCheckup expands indexes recursively (with sensible depth and size caps), shows a URL count, and lets you filter by child sitemap when you are looking at an index.

Common mistakes

• Publishing only a homepage URL in the sitemap while thousands of pages exist elsewhere
• Listing staging or noindex URLs you never meant to submit
• Pointing Sitemap: in robots.txt at a 404
• Mixing hosts across child sitemaps (we skip cross-host children for safety)

Next steps

After the sitemap looks healthy, confirm the homepage tags with the Meta Tags Checker or run a combined Site Audit.

FAQ

Does Google require a sitemap?

No, but sitemaps help discovery on large or poorly linked sites.

What is a sitemap index?

An XML file whose root is sitemapindex and whose entries are other sitemap URLs, not page URLs.

Is the checker free?

Yes — no account required for the SeoCheckup sitemap tool.