A An XML sitemap is a machine-readable file listing a website's important URLs. It helps search engines discover content more efficiently but does not replace internal linking or guarantee indexing.Open glossary entry → in Extensible Markup Language (XML) is a flexible text format for storing and exchanging data in a structured way. In the SEO context, the XML sitemap is best known.Open glossary entry → format (Extensible HyperText Markup Language (HTML) is the markup language for web pages. It defines the structure and content of a page, such as headings, paragraphs, links and images.Open glossary entry →, a machine-readable text format) is not a shortcut to better rankings. It is the table of contents of your website. Search engines and AI crawlers are automated bots that fetch web pages for AI providers in order to find content, make it available for search functions, retrieve it for answers, or, depending on the provider, use it for model training.Open glossary entry → use it to find new and important pages faster.

Two RankScan measures deal with the sitemap:

  • “No XML sitemap”: RankScan finds no sitemap that lists addresses.
  • “Sitemap without last-modified dates”: More than half of the addresses in the sitemap carry no change date (lastmod).

Both belong to the Website Health category. This article explains how RankScan finds the sitemap, when the measures appear and how you implement them.

A sitemap helps search engines find important pages. It does not replace Internal linking refers to links that connect pages within the same website. They control how search engines and users find and thematically classify content.Open glossary entry → and does not guarantee Indexing is the step in which a search engine processes crawled content and decides whether a URL is added to the search index. Only indexed pages can appear in search results.Open glossary entry →.

Key takeaways are the most important insights of an article presented as a short, easily scannable list. They help users grasp central points quickly.Open glossary entry →
  • An XML sitemap is a machine-readable list of the important addresses on your website.
  • RankScan looks for the sitemap in three ways: through the Sitemap: lines in The robots.txt is a publicly accessible text file in a site's root directory. It tells crawlers which URLs they may fetch and therefore controls crawling.Open glossary entry →, at /sitemap.xml and at /A sitemap index is a parent sitemap file that references several individual XML sitemaps. It is needed when a website exceeds the size limits of a single sitemap.Open glossary entry →.
  • “No XML sitemap”: high severity · low effort · work type Development.
  • “Sitemap without last-modified dates”: low severity · low effort · work type Development. It appears when more than 50% of the addresses carry no lastmod is an element in the XML sitemap indicating when a URL's main content was last significantly changed. It is only useful when maintained reliably.Open glossary entry →.
  • Add the full address of the sitemap to robots.txt. This lets AI crawlers find it too.
  • Submit the sitemap in Google Google Search Console (GSC) is a free Google tool that shows how a website performs in organic search, with data on impressions, clicks, click-through rate and average position, plus indexing and technical issues.Open glossary entry → and Bing Webmaster Tools.
  • Only indexable, canonical URLs with HTTP status 200 (OK) means a page was found and served successfully. Only 200 URLs should appear in the sitemap and serve as canonical targets.Open glossary entry → belong in the sitemap.
  • noindex is a robots directive telling search engines that a page should not appear in search results. The page must remain crawlable for it to work.Open glossary entry → pages, A redirect forwards users and search engines from one URL to another. It can be permanent (301) or temporary (302) and transfers signals to the target URL.Open glossary entry → and error pages do not belong in it.
  • lastmod carries the date of the last real change, not the date the sitemap was generated.
  • How RankScan checks it: Mark the measure as done. The next Crawling is the process by which a search engine bot fetches a URL and downloads its content. It is the first step before a page can be indexed.Open glossary entry → checks “No XML sitemap”, even if it does not reach every page. The next full crawl checks “Sitemap without last-modified dates”.

What Is an XML Sitemap? #

An XML sitemap is a file that lists the important addresses of a website in a fixed XML format.

Google describes a sitemap as a file with information about the pages, videos and other files on a website. Search engines read this file to crawl the website more efficiently.
Source: Google Search Central: Learn about sitemaps

A simple example:

xml
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<urlset xmlns="http://www.sitemaps.org/schemas/sitemap/0.9">
  <url>
    <loc>https://example.ch/</loc>
    <lastmod>2026-06-08</lastmod>
  </url>
  <url>
    <loc>https://example.ch/guide/create-xml-sitemap/</loc>
    <lastmod>2026-06-05T14:30:00+02:00</lastmod>
  </url>
</urlset>

The most important elements:

ElementMeaning
<urlset>container for the list of addresses
<url>one entry for one address
<loc>full address
<lastmod>date of the last real change

How RankScan Finds the Sitemap #

On every crawl, RankScan looks for the sitemap in three ways, in this order:

  1. the addresses from the Sitemap: lines in your robots.txt,
  2. /sitemap.xml on your domain,
  3. /sitemap_index.xml on your domain.

RankScan reads all sitemaps it finds and merges their addresses. This also applies to sitemap indexes with child sitemaps, for example one sitemap per language.

Three limits apply:

  • A sitemap only counts if it contains at least one address. An empty or unreadable file does not count.
  • A sitemap from robots.txt only counts if it is on the same website. A sitemap on another domain does not count.
  • If your sitemap is at a different address, for example /wp-sitemap.xml or /sitemap-index.xml, RankScan finds it only through robots.txt.

That is why the entry in robots.txt is mandatory. Only this entry lets crawlers find a sitemap at any address without you submitting it to each of them.

When Does “No XML sitemap” Appear? #

The measure appears when RankScan finds no sitemap with addresses in any of the three ways.

Rating in RankScan: high severity · low effort · work type Development.

The measure concerns the whole website, not individual pages. Typical causes:

  • The website system does not generate a sitemap, or the setting is off.
  • The sitemap is at a different address and is missing from robots.txt.
  • The sitemap returns an error, for example 404 or 500.
  • The sitemap is empty or not valid XML.
  • robots.txt points to a sitemap on another domain.

Google writes that a small, well internally linked website may not need a sitemap. Large, new or weakly linked websites benefit from one.
Source: Google Search Central: Learn about sitemaps

RankScan still rates the missing sitemap as high. The sitemap takes little effort and helps search engines and AI crawlers alike.

When Does “Sitemap without last-modified dates” Appear? #

The measure only appears when RankScan has found a sitemap with addresses. RankScan then counts all addresses from all sitemaps it found. Each address counts once, even if it is listed in several sitemaps.

If more than 50% of these addresses carry no lastmod, the measure appears. At exactly half, it does not appear yet.

Rating in RankScan: low severity · low effort · work type Development.

RankScan checks whether a lastmod is present. The measure does not check whether the date is correct. Getting the date right is therefore your job.

lastmod looks like this:

xml
<lastmod>2026-06-08</lastmod>

or with a time:

xml
<lastmod>2026-06-08T13:45:00+02:00</lastmod>

Google only uses lastmod if the value is reliable and consistent. The date should show the last significant change to the page.
Source: Google Search Central: Build and submit a sitemap

Implementing “No XML sitemap” #

The steps of the measure in RankScan:

  1. First check the Search Engine Optimization (SEO) covers all measures that help a website become more visible in unpaid (organic) search results.Open glossary entry → settings of your website. Many website systems generate the sitemap there with one click.
  2. If there is no such setting, have your developers or agency create an XML sitemap.
  3. Open the sitemap in your browser, usually at /sitemap.xml. Check that your important pages are listed.
  4. Add the full address of the sitemap to robots.txt. This lets AI crawlers find it too.
  5. Submit it in Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools.
  6. Mark the measure as done.

The Entry in robots.txt #

The entry stands on its own line and names the full address:

text
User-agent: *
Disallow: /admin/

Sitemap: https://example.ch/sitemap.xml

The line may appear anywhere in the file. Several sitemaps each get their own line. Put the sitemap on the same domain as your website.

Note: RankScan does not check the entry separately. If your sitemap is at /sitemap.xml, the measure closes even without the entry. Other crawlers do not necessarily know this address, though. Always add the entry.

Submitting to Google and Bing #

In Google Search Console:

  1. Open the property.
  2. Select the Sitemaps menu item.
  3. Enter the address of the sitemap and submit it.
  4. Then check the status and any errors.

Source: Google Search Central: Build and submit a sitemap

In Bing Webmaster Tools, you submit the sitemap in the Sitemaps section. How to set up Bing and why it matters for AI answers is covered in the article on Bing Webmaster Tools.

Implementing “Sitemap without last-modified dates” #

The steps of the measure in RankScan:

  1. First check the SEO settings of your website. Many website systems output lastmod there via a setting.
  2. If there is no such setting, have your developers or agency add the lastmod field to the XML sitemap.
  3. The field carries the date of the last real change, not the date the sitemap was generated.
  4. Open the sitemap in your browser, usually at /sitemap.xml. Check that every address carries a date.
  5. Mark the measure as done.

What Counts as a Real Change #

Update lastmod when the main content of the page has changed significantly. Examples:

  • new or substantially changed text,
  • updated facts, prices or availability,
  • new product data,
  • new images or videos related to the content,
  • changed FAQs or important sections.

No reason for a new date:

  • changed year in the footer,
  • adjusted layout or Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) is the language used to define the layout and design of web pages. CSS controls colours, fonts, spacing and arrangement, among other things.Open glossary entry →,
  • changed tracking script or cookie banner,
  • small spelling fix,
  • deploy or Caching stores previously retrieved content so it is available faster on repeat requests, relieving both servers and the network.Open glossary entry → rebuild without content changes.

Google stressed this in 2023 when it retired the sitemap ping: lastmod helps if it is reliable and only reflects significant changes.
Source: Google Search Central Blog: Sitemaps ping endpoint is going away

The “Always Today” Mistake #

Some website systems set every address to today’s date on each deploy or export. Then all pages look equally fresh. Crawlers can no longer recognize real changes.

RankScan does not report this mistake, because every address does carry a date. Check it yourself: if all addresses carry the same date, the source of the date is wrong.

Better:

  • read lastmod from the real change date of the page,
  • take product data into account for products,
  • do not apply global template changes to all addresses.

Which Addresses Belong in the Sitemap? #

General rule, RankScan does not measure all of it: only include addresses you want to see in search engines.

Only canonical, indexable addresses with status code 200.

Suitable:

  • homepage,
  • service, product and category pages,
  • blog articles and guides,
  • location pages,
  • important landing pages.

Not suitable:

  • noindex pages,
  • redirects (301, 302),
  • error pages (404, 410),
  • pages with a canonical pointing to another address,
  • pages blocked by robots.txt,
  • login, cart and checkout,
  • internal search, filter and sort pages,
  • addresses with tracking parameters,
  • staging addresses.

An address in the sitemap says: this page is important. If the same page is set to noindex, the signals contradict each other. Then remove either noindex or the address from the sitemap.

Google describes Canonicalization signals are all the cues search engines use to determine a page's canonical main version, including the canonical tag, internal links, the sitemap, redirects and hreflang.Open glossary entry → as choosing the representative address from a group of similar pages. That representative address belongs in the sitemap.
Source: Google Search Central: Canonicalization

A Sitemap Does Not Replace Internal Linking #

A sitemap is a list. Internal links are the network through which users and crawlers find and understand your pages.

Google calls internal links an important way to find new pages. Descriptive Anchor text is the clickable, visible text of a link. It gives users and search engines clues about what the linked target page is about.Open glossary entry → help users and Google understand the content.
Source: Google Search Central: Links best practices

SignalSitemapInternal link
address is discoveredyesyes
user finds the pagenoyes
context via link textnoyes
weight within the websiteweakstrong

If an important page is only listed in the sitemap, improve the internal linking. The article on orphan pages explains how.

changefreq and priority: Leave Them Out #

The sitemap protocol knows two more fields:

xml
<changefreq>weekly</changefreq>
<priority>0.8</priority>

Google ignores changefreq and priority.
Source: Google Search Central: Build and submit a sitemap

Leave both fields out. Focus on clean addresses and a reliable lastmod.

Creating a Sitemap: A Practical System #

WordPress #

WordPress generates its own sitemap at /wp-sitemap.xml. Many websites use an SEO plugin instead, such as Yoast SEO, Rank Math, SEOPress or The SEO Framework. These plugins often place the sitemap at /sitemap_index.xml.

Check in WordPress:

  • Is the sitemap listed in robots.txt? For /wp-sitemap.xml, RankScan finds it only that way.
  • Which content types are included?
  • Are noindex pages and media attachment pages excluded?
  • Does the plugin output lastmod?

Shopify, Squarespace, Wix and Website Builders #

Many website builders generate the sitemap automatically. Still check:

  • Is the sitemap reachable?
  • Is it listed in robots.txt?
  • Does it include product and category pages?
  • Do deleted products disappear from the sitemap?

Craft CMS, TYPO3, Laravel and Custom Systems #

In custom systems, the sitemap is part of development. Important:

  • generate the sitemap dynamically,
  • use the same indexing rules as the frontend,
  • exclude noindex, redirects and error pages,
  • read lastmod from the real change date of the content,
  • do not treat a deploy as a content change,
  • use a sitemap index for large volumes.

Sitemap Index and Size Limits #

According to the sitemap protocol, a single sitemap may contain at most 50,000 addresses and be at most 50 MB uncompressed. A larger website needs several sitemaps and a sitemap index.
Source: sitemaps.org: Protocol

Example of a sitemap index:

xml
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<sitemapindex xmlns="http://www.sitemaps.org/schemas/sitemap/0.9">
  <sitemap>
    <loc>https://example.ch/sitemap-pages.xml</loc>
    <lastmod>2026-06-08</lastmod>
  </sitemap>
  <sitemap>
    <loc>https://example.ch/sitemap-blog.xml</loc>
    <lastmod>2026-06-05</lastmod>
  </sitemap>
</sitemapindex>

For the measure “Sitemap without last-modified dates”, the lastmod of the individual addresses in the child sitemaps counts. The lastmod in the index itself does not count.

A sensible split: pages, blog articles, products, categories, language versions. Separate sitemaps make errors easier to see.

Special Sitemaps #

Besides the normal sitemap, there are extensions for images, videos and news. A news sitemap is meant for publishers who want to appear in Google News. It should only contain recently published articles.
Source: Google Search Central: News sitemap

For most business websites, a normal XML sitemap is enough.

Google Sitemap Ping Has Been Discontinued #

In the past, you could notify Google of a new sitemap through a ping address. Google retired this endpoint in 2023. Instead, Google recommends a reliable lastmod, Search Console and the entry in robots.txt.
Source: Google Search Central Blog: Sitemaps ping endpoint is going away

The Sitemap as a Diagnostic Tool #

After submitting, Google Search Console shows you:

  • whether Google has read the sitemap,
  • whether it contains syntax errors,
  • how many addresses Google has discovered,
  • which submitted addresses are indexed and which are not.

A large gap between submitted and indexed addresses rarely comes from the sitemap itself. But it shows you where to look further: thin or Duplicate content refers to identical or very similar content reachable under several URLs. It rarely triggers a penalty but causes a loss of control over which version becomes the main one.Open glossary entry →, wrong canonicals, noindex, blocks in robots.txt, redirects or weak internal linking.

How RankScan Checks It #

Mark the measure as done as soon as the sitemap is online.

  • The next crawl checks “No XML sitemap”, even if it does not reach every page. The measure is fixed when the crawl finds a sitemap with addresses in one of the three ways.
  • The next full crawl checks “Sitemap without last-modified dates”. The measure is fixed when at most half of the addresses lack lastmod.

RankScan then reports “Fixed” or “Not fixed yet”. RankScan starts the next crawl on its own.

What a Good Sitemap Check Looks At #

General checklist, RankScan does not measure all of it. RankScan checks two points: whether a sitemap with addresses can be found and whether more than half of the addresses lack lastmod. You check the other points yourself, for example in Search Console.

  • sitemap reachable and valid XML,
  • sitemap listed in robots.txt,
  • sitemap submitted in Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools,
  • sitemap index valid, limits for addresses and file size respected,
  • only addresses with status code 200,
  • no noindex pages, no redirects, no error pages,
  • no addresses with a canonical pointing elsewhere,
  • no staging addresses, no mix of HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) is the protocol through which browsers and servers exchange web content. HTTPS is the encrypted, secure variant of this protocol.Open glossary entry → and HTTPS or with and without www,
  • lastmod present and plausible,
  • lastmod not set to today on every deploy,
  • important pages fully included.

Example: Sitemap After a Relaunch #

The example is fictitious and shows the process.

Starting Point #

A Swiss online shop has relaunched its website. RankScan reports “No XML sitemap”.

Analysis #

  • The new shop system generates a sitemap at /sitemap-index.xml.
  • robots.txt still names the old address, which returns 404.
  • /sitemap.xml and /sitemap_index.xml do not exist.
  • RankScan therefore finds the sitemap in none of the three ways.

Solution #

  1. Change the entry in robots.txt to https://shop.example.ch/sitemap-index.xml.
  2. Open the sitemap in the browser and check that products and categories are listed.
  3. Resubmit the sitemap in Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools.
  4. Mark the measure as done.

Result #

The next crawl finds the sitemap through robots.txt. RankScan reports “Fixed”. The same crawl shows that the sitemap outputs no lastmod. RankScan therefore opens “Sitemap without last-modified dates”. The team switches on lastmod in the settings of the shop system.

Common XML Sitemap Mistakes #

Mistake 1: Sitemap at Its Own Address, Without an Entry in robots.txt #

Without the entry, RankScan only looks at /sitemap.xml and /sitemap_index.xml. A sitemap at another address then stays invisible.

Mistake 2: Sitemap on Another Domain #

A sitemap on another domain does not count for RankScan. Serve it from your own website.

Mistake 3: Including All Addresses #

A sitemap is not a complete database. It only contains indexable main addresses.

Mistake 4: Including Redirects and Error Pages #

Search engines should only receive pages with status code 200.

Mistake 5: Artificially Updating lastmod #

A deploy is not a content change. A wrong date devalues the signal.

Mistake 6: Submitting Only to Google #

Submit the sitemap in Bing Webmaster Tools as well.

Checklist: Review an XML Sitemap #

RankScan measures the first two points. The rest is a general checklist.

  • Does RankScan find a sitemap with addresses, through robots.txt, /sitemap.xml or /sitemap_index.xml?
  • Do at least half of the addresses carry a lastmod?
  • Is the full address of the sitemap in robots.txt?
  • Is the sitemap on your own domain?
  • Have you submitted it in Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools?
  • Are your important pages listed?
  • Does it contain only canonical, indexable addresses with status code 200?
  • Does every address carry the date of its last real change?
  • Have you marked the measure as done?

In addition, 404 errors, content updates, and AI crawlers and llms.txt help narrow down the root cause and prioritize the next SEO actions.

FAQ About XML Sitemaps #

What is an XML sitemap?

An XML sitemap is a machine-readable file with the important addresses of a website. Search engines and AI crawlers use it to find new and important pages faster.

How does RankScan find my sitemap?

In three ways: through the Sitemap: lines in robots.txt, at /sitemap.xml and at /sitemap_index.xml. RankScan finds a sitemap at any other address only through robots.txt.

What does “No XML sitemap” mean in RankScan?

RankScan found no sitemap with addresses in any of the three ways. The measure has high severity.

What does “Sitemap without last-modified dates” mean in RankScan?

More than 50% of the addresses in your sitemaps carry no lastmod. The measure has low severity.

Does the sitemap have to be in robots.txt?

Yes, the entry is one of the steps of the measure. Only this entry lets crawlers find a sitemap at any address without you submitting it to each of them.

Where do I submit the sitemap?

In Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools, each in the Sitemaps section.

Should lastmod always be set to today’s date?

No. lastmod carries the date of the last real change. A date that changes on every deploy weakens the signal.

Do I need to use changefreq and priority?

No. Google ignores both fields. You can leave them out.

Does a sitemap replace internal links?

No. A sitemap helps with discovery. Internal links provide context and guidance for users.

When does RankScan report “Fixed”?

“No XML sitemap” is fixed after the next crawl if RankScan finds a sitemap with addresses. The crawl does not have to reach every page for this. “Sitemap without last-modified dates” is fixed after the next full crawl if at most half of the addresses lack lastmod.

Conclusion: A Good Sitemap Is Findable, Clean and Honest #

An XML sitemap is not a ranking trick. It is the table of contents of your website for search engines and AI crawlers.

The process:

  1. switch on the sitemap in the settings of your website system, or have it created,
  2. only include canonical, indexable addresses with status code 200,
  3. output lastmod with the date of the last real change,
  4. add the full address to robots.txt,
  5. submit the sitemap in Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools,
  6. mark the measure as done.

The next crawl then checks whether RankScan finds the sitemap.

Sources and Further Reading #