Google Search Console doesn't list 'Pages' sitemap...on two different stores

[AquaLiv]

Search Console seems to have a problem with the 'Pages' sitemap listed in the sitemap index sitemap.xml. In Search Console, if I click on sitemap.xml, it lists '3 of 3' sitemaps (Products, Collections, and Blogs); No Pages! This is happening on two completely different stores on different Search Console accounts. I bet I'm not the only one.

I'm losing rank on Google search results, I believe because my Pages (landing pages) are no longer in my submitted sitemap.

Anyone else having this problem or found a solution? I need my traffic back.

I'm not using any SEO apps. This is the default Shopify sitemap.

Pages sitemap is missing in Search Console!

[cmorales]

I believe that you should turning on the Index, Follow of your CMS. Then regenerate your sitemap.xml in sitemap generator. Let's see, if those subpages will be appear to your sitemap.xml then submit it to Google Webmaster Tools.

[AquaLiv]

I'm on Shopify.

[cmorales]

That what I mean in my previous posted. Please check -> https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/promoting-marketing/seo/hide-a-page-from-search-engines

[AquaLiv]

No, that's not the problem. The Pages sitemap IS listed in sitemap.xml and my pages are all listed in the Pages sitemap. However, Google Search Console says it is displaying '3 of 3' sitemaps from the index sitemap.xml but there are 4 sitemaps in sitemap.xml. The missing sitemap is for Pages and this is the case on two completely different stores.

[Roberto_López]

Same problem going on here. I submitted the "pages_sitemap" without the number "1" like: www.domain.com/sitemap_pages.xml and all seems to work fine.

[ThomasBorowski]

I have the same issue on two different Shopify stores. Google Search Console is completely ignoring the pages child sitemap. The pages are still being indexed, as Google doesn't rely solely on sitemaps to discover the pages of a site. 

I submitted the pages child sitemap sitemap_pages_1.xml separately alongside the main parent sitemap.xml and GSC says it can't read the sitemap. I ran the child sitemap through several sitemap validators which all found no errors. So maybe this is an issue just with GSC? Still something Shopify should maybe look into. So lets keep this thread active.

[Manuelgou]

Hi AquaLIV, 

I have got the same problem as you with the sitemap. I am losing rank on Google also but not sure if this is a shopify issue or a Google issue. 

On the other hand you have been attact with a lot of links from different countries and for some reason your robot txt does no block the search pages and you have at least 470 urls in corean (look for site: yoursite /search). 

Try to eliminate this urls from indexing. 

I had the same problem as many shopify shops.

hopes this helps.  

[AquaLiv]

Thanks for the tips. I blocked the search pages. Hopefully, someone will
figure out the pages sitemap issue soon.

[Manuelgou]

I see. Even when you have block search using robot txt and a noindex tag still indexing this urls, thats odd. How did you put the no index tag ? did you used an app? 

[AquaLiv]

No. I just blocked the search pages after your recommendation. Thanks for that.

[Manuelgou]

Cool, you will see your ranking up in no time. 

[dainyen]

I'm having the same issue. Have you been able to work something out since then?

edit: I have resorted to adding the 'Pages' sitemap as a separate sitemap

[Ivanpr]

Hi Dainyen, I hope you are well. Can you please advise how did you manage to resolve the issue with the Page sitemap? I am having the same issue where GSC can't fetch my Pages sitemap. Any support you can provide, will be appreciated!

[jaybee21]

Hi everyone,

We are facing exactly the same issue here with Google and the sitemaps. I have already contacted the Shopify Plus support team, but they only told me that "sitemap.xml" should be used from February 15 on exclusively. The four existing child sub-sitemaps should NOT be used as officially, these won't work any more since then. Well, they do as of now - I tested it...

However, neither the /sitemap_pages_1.xml works nor does the /sitemap.xml load the pages. The /sitemap.xml only loads the child sub-sitemaps /sitemap_products_1.xml, /sitemap_collections_1.xml and /sitemap_blogs_1.xml but not the pages. Exactly what happens to the thread opener AquaLiv.

My question is if anyone could solve that issue? I mean, it is really important for everyone I assume, and we do not have any access to the sitemap.xml. And it is Google, so it should work with the most important search engine, right?

[ThomasBorowski]

I've brought this issue up with support and on the Partners Slack as well and have yet to receive any sensible response. Support told me that sub-sitemaps shouldn't be submitted, which I only did for testing purposes. Nobody at Shopify seems to really be aware of this issue or what the actual problem is, when it's pretty clear from looking at any Shopify store in Search Console. The pages sub-sitemap is simply being ignored while the other sub-sitemaps are being processed correctly.

[C_Woodman]

I'v also been in contact with Shopify about this issues.  I have communicated with them about it 3 times and was told last time that technical support would keep me posted on the issue.  That was 2 weeks ago and, still I've heard nothing.  

That last Guru that I spoke with was told to tell me to contact Google.  That's a joke, how exactly do I do that?  This probably is a Google issue not Shopify's but, as it is effecting Shopify stores it should be up to Shopify to work the issue out with Google, not an individual store owner.

[IAP]

Well, it may actually be a Shopify problem, and it wouldn't be a surprise. 

When listing the sub-sitemaps, the header of the successfully submitted sitemaps reads as follows:

<urlset xmlns="http://www.sitemaps.org/schemas/sitemap/0.9" xmlns:image="http://www.google.com/schemas/sitemap-image/1.1">

Whereas, the only sub-sitemap that manages to not be read by Google reads like this:

<urlset xmlns="http://www.sitemaps.org/schemas/sitemap/0.9">

I know that this is for xml sitemaps defining images for the relevant links, but the extra code is also on the blog's sitemap without any images being defined there. I may be completely wrong, but it's just a thought.  

[C_Woodman]

Hi IAP

I have looked at the sitemaps of 3 different Shopify stores, including our own and, all of them use the header "<sitemapindex xmlns="http://www.sitemaps.org/schemas/sitemap/0.9">".  I can't say for sure, but I am assuming that all Shopify Stores' sitemaps will be set up the same.  If it is a Shopify error than that could potentially mean every single Shopify sitemap is not being correctly read by GSC.  If that was the case then I would hope Shopify is doing something to correct the problem and is making it a priority.  On the other hand if it is a GSC issue, it could take month/years to see it fixed.

I first alerted Shopify to this issue on June 25/19 but have notice that GSC has not read it correctly since they migrated everything over to the new GSC in February.  Our store has been up for several years and this is the same sitemap setup we've had for sometime and GSC never had any issue reading it until February of this year.

Though I have contact Shopify 3 times about the issues I still have not heard anything back from them re: solution.

In any case, it would be nice if Shopify would give us an update as to whether this issue is being addressed or not.

I just had a look at the individual child site maps and IAP is absolutely correct the pages sitemap is different than the rest. and is missing the xmlns:image="http://www.google.com/schemas/sitemap-image/1.1" so he could be on to something but it still doesn't explain why GSC could read it before but not now.

[Denis_B]

Anyone get an answer from Shopify on this issue - I am experiencing the same problem - the pages sitemap is not being read by Google

[C_Woodman]

Nope, Shopify has not addressed the problem as far as I know as we are still having the same issue.  Perhaps you should contact Shopify support and let them  know that you are having the issue.  The more people that report it the more likely they'll address it.

[d4nnyp]

Another here with the exact same issue. Search console is not fetching "sitemap_pages_1.xml" even though it is listed in my "sitemap.xml" . Tried adding manually and it just says "couldn't fetch".

Are there any ways to manually fix this problem? Apps? 

[Liquify]

I've been looking at this same issue on a Plus store right now. @d4nnyp @AquaLiv @C_Woodman @Denis_B @IAP 

The sitemap is valid but is not indexed and Google is not taking it. 

As noted before - the only apparent difference is the xmlns:image= which shouldn't be an issue.

Also inspecting raw headers you'll see that on all accepted sitemaps then you get

X-Shopify-Stage: production

but on pages_1.xml you get

X-Shopify-Stage: canary

Which is probably a code name for things which are bust or have been bust.  My guess is that possibly there was an error before here which means Google is now ignoring these.  From what I gather this can happen.

Anyway - If you try to submit /sitemap_pages.xml and not /sitemap_pages_1.xml - you're in business.

I'm guessing if you've got a tonne of pages then you'll be hit by a pagination limit but for my purposes today it's fine.

✌️

sidenote: it wouldn't be much work to build a new pages xml sitemap - if you need help give me a shout.

[Sberry]

Seeing the same issue. I was wondering why one of our top pages had dropped off over the past few months. Submitted /sitemap_pages.xml sub map for now but not sure how this hasn't been a more widely reported issue.

[C_Woodman]

This has been an ongoing issue since Feb/19.  I am starting to doubt the Shopify is even watching this thread.  If they are they don't seem to think it is an issue.  I would recommend you call support and report the issue.  The more people that they get reports from the more likely they'll do something about it.

[Matt-vv]

Having the same problem here.   

[Skuperman]

I have been wondering the same thing. I noticed that adding pages into the Search Console it takes them and says it will index, but all my pages that were supposedly in the sitemap that search console says it indexed are just no there. So if someone does know how to build a new sitemap I think it would be worthwile. I was thinking of changing to a Wordpress site as the cost is lower and probably does not have this issue. Certainly cannot stay in business if the largest search engine does not have your pages

[Liquify]

@Skuperman 
read my comment - job done. this line specifically.

Anyway - If you try to submit /sitemap_pages.xml and not /sitemap_pages_1.xml - you're in business.

[danielapke]

Anyway - If you try to submit /sitemap_pages.xml and not /sitemap_pages_1.xml - you're in business.

[George_C]

I just noticed this myself, same issue here. I did notice that Google indexed my Pages anyways, but my attention to the issue was raised when I was looking at the "Coverage" section in the Search Console, and saw all my Pages in the "indexed, not submitted" section. 

Thank you @Liquify for the workaround tip. 

[Jahangeer]

Why isn't Shopify addressing this issue? I just used the default sitemap for over a year and my pages were not indexed! 😞

Just added /sitemap_pages.xml manually. 

[Liquify]

I honestly don't think Shopify can actually do anything here as such else I would have escalated this. So let's not bury the answer in moaning about it (as most people will skip to the end looking for a solution and not find the actual solution).

The sitemaps are all technically valid.  Google is simply ignoring the page one.  So the issue is more with Google.  My guess is that for a time in the past these page sitemaps had an error and so Google stopped fetching them all. Either that or the big Google machine has decided that content under this sitemap is routinely not of value on Shopify sites.

Either way - just use my previous solution to solve it. End of.

Generally considered best to not continue forum threads if there's a solution as it kinda buries it .

[craigdiscover]

This fixed the issue for me - nice work! 😄

[BaronBretelle]

Thanks Liquify!

Had the same problem for my suspenders website, but this sitemap did the trick to index my pages!

[Manuelgou]

In some cases add pages to the sitemap is not a good idea for SEO. 

If you want deindexing some pages like policy pages using a noindex tag it would be a conflict sending to the sitemap as well. 

[KevinW]

@AquaLiv  - If your objective is to successfully submit your Shopify Page URLs to Google for indexing, our friend @Liquify has THE SOLUTION to your problem >>> remove the "-1" from the Pages sitemap and submit it separately, like this... 

From an SEO perspective, whether Shopify / Google ever fix the issue preventing the -1 version from being submitted is irrelevant. If you want Google to crawl and index your pages so they have the ability to rank, follow the advice above and move on to more important SEO tasks 🙂

And if you or anyone else is looking for more info about this issue and how it relates to your SEO, check out my reply in a similar Shopify Community thread. 

CC: @ThomasBorowski , @Ivanpr , @jaybee21 , @C_Woodman , @Denis_B , @d4nnyp , @Matt-vv , @Skuperman 

[C_Woodman]

Yes, removing the -1 in my sitemap has done the trick but, we shouldn’t have to do this. Shopify claims it’s a Google problem & Google claims it a Shopify issue. As always it’s always someone else’s issue.

[MickeyLlew]

Signed up to just say thank you to @Liquify 

His solution which sits on page (3) works perfectly.
‎(Posted at this time) 09-06-2019 05:25 AM 

Thanks again - I wanted to ensure others can find it.