jaguar54

For info, I have just discovered the hard way that AIOSEO does NOT delete its tables from the database when it is uninstalled. WP-Optimize will assist with deleting redundant tables.

SOLUTION:

I browsed the database manually. It showed a number of residual tables from both Rank Math and AIOSEO which I experimented with before reverting to YoastSEO (because it turned out to be better than the rest!).

I used WP-Optimize to delete those tables, if only to clear the clutter, and now there is no sign of the old attachments_sitemap which must have been lurking in those redundant tables. Shame on you Rank Math and AIOSEO for not cleaning up behind yourselves.

That was an interesting exercise…

Troubleshooting enabled – Yoast enabled (basic posts and pages sitemaps)

All other plugins enabled one by one with check of sitemaps each time – all as it should be

Astra theme enabled – no problems

Troubleshooting mode disabled – sitemaps correct (no rogue sitemap). According to Yoast – Site features – View the XML Sitemap

However, I deleted the sitemap_index in Google Search Console, then re-submitted sitemap_index using https://sitename/sitemap_index.xml. The rogue attachments sitemap was still present.

So now, Yoast doesn’t see the rogue sitemap (it did previously), but it is still present!

OK, so I have been through your suggestions – no difference.

I installed Health Check & Troubleshooting. While in Troubleshooting mode with just Yoast activated, the rogue attachments_sitemap disappeared. Back out of Troubleshooting it has reappeared. Presumably this indicates that one of the other plugins is causing the issue. I will proceed with enabling one additional plugin at a time until the rogue sitemap reappears.

I also installed WP Healthcheck, which detected remnants of AIOSEO in WordPress startup files. I used that tool to remove them but the problem remains. Incidentally, I experimented with AIOSEO around the time that the rogue sitemap is dated. It was not as good as Yoast and so I de-installed it and switched back to Yoast. I expect something in this process has caused the sitemap problem.

OK. In Google Search Console, select Sitemaps from the left menu. Your submitted sitemaps will be listed in the white box on the right. Click on the sitemap you wish to delete. It will open to show the contents of the sitemap. Now at the top right (beside ‘Open Sitemap’) you will see three vertical dots. Click on the three dots and the ‘Remove sitemap’ option will open for you to click on.

In WordPress select: Yoast SEO / Settings / Site Features

Scroll down the available features until the last set ‘ APIs’ which includes ‘XML sitemaps’ (complete with picture of a pirate). At the bottom of that panel is a toggle switch. Click it to switch sitemaps off. Your Yoast created sitemaps will vanish immediately.

Or, do you need help with removing sitemaps from Google Search Console?

• This reply was modified 1 year, 10 months ago by jaguar54.

Yes, thank you, that makes sense to me. Multiple pages it is ??

Ahh, okay thank you, setting within the shortcode didn’t occur to me. I will hold off worrying about it until the rewrite comes available. ??