How to Fix Sitemap Submission Errors in Google Search Console

 

How to Fix Sitemap Submission Errors in Google Search Console


Submitting your sitemap in Google Search Console (GSC) is essential for ensuring that Google correctly discovers and indexes your website. But if you're seeing a “Couldn’t fetch” or “Error” message after submitting your sitemap, don’t panic. This is a common and solvable problem.

In this guide, you'll learn the exact reasons why sitemap errors occur and how to resolve them step by step to improve your site’s visibility on Google.

🔍 What is a Sitemap and Why Does It Matter?

A sitemap is a structured XML file that helps search engines like Google understand the structure of your website. It lists important URLs and tells crawlers which pages should be indexed.

A proper sitemap helps:

  • Improve crawl efficiency
  • Highlight updated or important content
  • Boost SEO performance
  • Avoid missing pages in indexing

If your sitemap fails, Google may not index your site properly, which can directly affect your search engine rankings.

🛠️ Common Sitemap Errors and How to Fix Them

1. “Couldn't Fetch” Error

This is the most common sitemap issue.

Causes:

  • The sitemap URL is incorrect
  • Your site is blocking crawlers
  • Server timeout or no response

Solutions:

  • Ensure the sitemap URL is correct
    For WordPress: https://yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml
    For Blogger: https://yourblog.blogspot.com/sitemap.xml

  • Visit the sitemap URL manually to check if it loads without error.

  • Check robots.txt to ensure it’s not blocking Googlebot:

    User-agent: *  
Allow: /

  • Use HTTPS consistently — avoid mixing HTTP and HTTPS in your sitemap submission.

2. “Sitemap is in HTML Format” Error

This happens when you're trying to submit a regular web page instead of an XML file.

Solution:

  • Submit only valid XML sitemaps. You can generate one using tools like:
    • Yoast SEO (WordPress)
    • XML-Sitemaps.com
    • Rank Math
    • Google Blogger's default sitemap: https://yourblog.blogspot.com/sitemap.xml

3. URLs Blocked by Robots.txt

If your sitemap includes URLs that are blocked by your robots.txt file, Google can’t crawl them.

Solution:

  • Edit the robots.txt file to allow sitemap URLs to be crawled
  • Example of a safe configuration: 
    User-agent: *  
Allow: /  
Sitemap: https://yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml

4. Sitemap Returns 404 or 403 Error

404 = Not Found,
403 = Forbidden Access

Causes:

  • The sitemap doesn’t exist
  • Incorrect file permissions
  • Firewall or security plugins are blocking access

Solution:

  • Confirm the file exists and is properly located
  • Check file permissions and server settings
  • If using WordPress, disable conflicting security plugins temporarily

5. Slow Server or Timeout Issues

Google may be unable to fetch your sitemap due to server overload or timeouts.

Solution:

  • Use a reliable hosting provider
  • Optimize your website speed using caching and image compression
  • Keep sitemap size under Google’s limit (50,000 URLs or 50MB uncompressed)

✅ Best Practices for Submitting Sitemaps

  • Keep only 1–3 sitemap files unless your site is very large
  • Update sitemap whenever new content is published
  • Monitor sitemap status in GSC regularly
  • Use tools like Google Search Console Inspector to analyze errors

🔄 Final Steps After Fixing Errors

After making corrections:

  1. Go to Google Search Console > Sitemaps
  2. Remove the old sitemap if needed
  3. Resubmit the corrected sitemap
  4. Check back after 24–48 hours to see the updated status


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