Sitemap exists, but comes up as a 404 error in Google

  • Resolved malvolio

    (@malvolio)


    8 years, 5 months ago

    I have sitemaps enabled, and when I go to https://www.malvolio.com.au/sitemap_index.xml the sitemap exists…

    However, I then attempted to submit it in Google Search Console, and it comes up with “General HTTP error: 404 not found”.

    I have found that sitemap_index.xml is not coming up in my FTP root folder, so I saved and uploaded the sitemap_index.xml manually, and then Google recognised it (but then couldn’t recognise any of the sitemaps within it, again because the files don’t exist even though you can reach them in any web browser). I would prefer that Yoast generates these files.

    I’ve done a lot of searching for a solution, but I’m not coming up with much. I tried the Yoast htaccess rewrite code, disabled/enabled plugins, updated permalinks, deleted my cache…but to no avail.

    Any advice/recommendations to get the sitemap files to show up as actual files to keep Google happy would be hugely appreciated!

    https://www.ads-software.com/plugins/wordpress-seo/

Viewing 12 replies - 1 through 12 (of 12 total)
  • Thread Starter malvolio

    (@malvolio)

    Bumping this, hoping someone will see this who can help.

    Has anyone else ever tried to submit their Yoast sitemap to Google and it come up as a 404 error in their system? If you figured out how to get Google to see/accept the sitemap, how did you fix it? I’d love some answers.

    Cheers,
    Sarah

    as far I know, there is no sitemap_index.xml in your root folder and it should not be there.
    The plugin generates this file ‘on the fly’.
    So I guess this sitemap generation is not working on your site.
    Just my opinion, I have no such sitemaps files physically in root, but they come up by ‘calling’ the link.

    Thread Starter malvolio

    (@malvolio)

    That’s what I thought – and the “on the fly” link works: https://www.malvolio.com.au/sitemap_index.xml – but Google Search Console claims it can’t see it and gives me a 404 error when I submit the sitemap. It’s really bizarre!

    testing your sitemap: it appears on screen, but in firefox Web Developer > Network it shows indeed a 404
    in https://kb.yoast.com/kb/my-sitemap-index-is-giving-a-404-error-what-should-i-do/ they say: Go to Admin > Settings > Permalinks and click save without altering anything.
    Hope you find help of a person with more knowledge ..
    Edit: just read somewhere – Uncheck the user XML Sitemap functionality and save, check again and save again in yoast

    Hi @malvolio – Please take the steps that @longjorn keenly has provided including unchecking and re-checking the option.

    Thread Starter malvolio

    (@malvolio)

    Thanks Longjorn and AskKim, but unfortunately I had already followed the steps at https://kb.yoast.com/kb/my-sitemap-index-is-giving-a-404-error-what-should-i-do/ before I submitted my original support post. I have gone through the steps again (including the htaccess rewrite rules), but still have the same problem that the site map is not being recgonised in Google Search Console.

    Looks like I’m just going to have to stick to the original sitemap plugin I was using. I was really looking forward to keeping everything in Yoast, but it doesn’t seem possible at this stage. I keep reading so many support tickets with the exact same issue I’m having too without a fix, it’s really disappointing.

    opportus

    (@opportus)

    I get the same issue, @malvolio, did you find a workaround ?

    Plugin Support amboutwe

    (@amboutwe)

    @opportus If you have a similar issue, please open a new request. That way it’s easier to track issues and provide assistance. Thanks!

    Thread Starter malvolio

    (@malvolio)

    @opportus the sitemaps still don’t work for me, I ended up installing a separate sitemap plugin. Disappointed that this is still unresolved, so please do open another support ticket – I’ll follow along as I would love this issue to be fixed.

    I have the same problem. I have tried to save permalinks and uncheck and re-check the option.
    The search console still indicates 404 error.

    The strange thing is that my new website is in a network, and all the sites in the network are ok except this one.

    For info, the plugins I use only on this site are :
    – Category Posts in Custom Menu
    – Cookie Notice
    – Crop Thumbnails
    – Recent Posts Widget Extended
    – Simple Calendar
    – Custom sidebars
    and Snazzy Maps

    For now, I will have to use a new plugin to generate the sitemap file.
    Hope this bug will be resolved soon to be able to use Yoast again.

    The bug came from nginx rules which weren’t updated on my server.
    I have updated the rules according to this page : https://kb.yoast.com/kb/my-sitemap-is-giving-a-404-error-what-should-i-do/ and everything is fine now.

    I use Yoast SEO also and am trying to get Google Search Console to identify the auto generated sitemap_index.xml that isn’t physically in the web root, but needs to be accessed via some rewrite rules (I use Apache). So I followed this: https://kb.yoast.com/kb/xml-sitemaps-apache/. No luck.

    I tried enabling/disabling the Sitemap feature in the Yoast plugin.
    I tried switching options in Settings > Permalinks and saving again.
    I tried some other tweaky stuff too.

    I can access the sitemap_index.xml directly, but Google Search Console continues to have the 404 error.

    I will too have to work out the sitemap with another plugin.

    • This reply was modified 7 years, 8 months ago by wmartindale.
Viewing 12 replies - 1 through 12 (of 12 total)
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