Core Issue:
Shopify store owners are experiencing “couldn’t fetch” errors when submitting sitemap.xml files to Google Search Console, preventing proper indexing of their pages.
Common Symptoms:
Main sitemap shows “couldn’t fetch” or “unknown” status
Sub-sitemaps (particularly sitemap_pages_1.xml and sitemap_products_1.xml) fail to fetch
Sites don’t appear in Google search results except when full URL is entered
Only 1-2 pages indexed despite having more content
Working Solutions:
Property Type Fix:
Switch from “URL prefix” to “Domain” property type in Google Search Console
Add property through dropdown menu and follow domain verification instructions
Sitemap URL Modification:
Remove “_1” from sitemap URLs (submit “/sitemap_pages.xml” instead of “/sitemap_pages_1.xml”)
Multiple users confirmed this triggers successful fetching of both modified and original sitemaps
Content Requirements:
Ensure at least one piece of each content type exists (pages, blogs, collections, products)
Missing blog posts can cause sitemap generation glitches
Verify pages are set to “visible” status in Shopify
Manual Submission:
Submit individual sub-sitemaps listed in DOMAIN/sitemap.xml separately
This can change main sitemap status from “Couldn’t Fetch” to “Success”
Important Context:
Sitemap fetch errors don’t necessarily prevent indexing—Google discovers URLs through multiple methods. Users should verify actual indexing status via site: searches or GSC Coverage Reports.
Summarized with AI on November 2.
AI used: claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929.
I’ve looked and searched all over the net and i just don’t understand or have the ability to fix this issue. I’ve resubmitted the sitemap a couple times and it keeps coming up as couldn’t fetch and the type is unknown. I have input some url’s in manually and had them indexed and they show as valid. I search in google “popcultdesignz” and my site is no where to be found. Only if i put the entire address does it show up. 1 or 2 pages might be in the search results but thats about it. ive tried both on the old console version and the new, still no improvement. Its been like this since the 12/02/19. I dont have the knowledge to be able to fix this on my own and i need the communities help.
Yes, there was a new option to select the property type by “Domain” rather
than just URL prefix.
From the google search console, click on the drop down arrow next to your
URL address, then click Add Property. Select the Domain property type and
follow those instructions.
I tried checking and i did have the property type set to domain. My issue is that it gets the main sitemap.xml but the ‘sub’ sitemaps are down as couldn’t fetch… anyone got any other ideas?
On my end, sitemap.xml and sitemap products (sitemap_products_1.xml) successfully uploaded and understood by Google.
But the sitemap pages (sitemap_pages_1.xml) really gives me a hard time. “couldn’t fetch” status for weeks. Sent a manual sitemap notification to Google, still can’t fetch.
Have been through loads of topics without a proper answer - anyone to help ?
Same story - sitemap_products_1.xml could not fetch. Theoretically, one may manually submit products for indexing, but it will take too much time. Anybody from Experts could look into this? Thanks! https://dodomarket.mu
Add at least (1) of everything, collections blogs etc. I was having the same problem and didn’t have any blog posts. As soon as I created one the sitemap fetched just fine. Apparently there is some kind of glitch in the sitemap generator.
Hi, I submitted the sitemaps listed in the DOMAIN/sitemap. xml page.
After submitting them, the DOMAIN/sitemap. xml status changed from Couldn’t Fetch to Success.
I had the following sitemaps listed:
DOMAIN/sitemap_products_1. xml?from=3930877821031&to=3933632430183 DOMAIN/sitemap_pages_1. xml DOMAIN/sitemap_collections_1. xml DOMAIN/sitemap_blogs_1. xml
Do you have any pages created in Shopify that are published? Can you view the sitemap URLs yourself? Confirming these two things first are common ways to solve non-existent sitemaps.
@PopCultDesignz I’ve been having the same issue on several of my clients’ Shopify sites for nearly a year. GSC is successfully fetching and processing the sitemap index + all of its associated Product/Collection/Blog sitemaps, but it refuses to fetch the Pages sitemap.
I’ve tried several fixes and monitored them continuously, but none have worked… until @pwong suggested removing the “-1” from the end of the sitemap URL and submitting it. For some reason that unfortunately I can’t explain, it works. In the example below, this site has 35 URLs, 8 of which are Shopify “pages,” yet none are being discovered from within the main /sitemap.xml index file. But as soon as I submitted the /sitemap_pages.xml file (without the “-1”), Google finally discovered the 8 pages I’ve been wanting them to discover
NOTE 1: As @Terrible_Tiki and @Josh_Uebergang both correctly pointed out, you’ll have problems submitting your Pages sitemap if you don’t have at least 1 Page set to “visible” status. So that may also be the issue. It depends on your unique situation.
NOTE 2: It’s not necessarily the end of the world if GSC says it’s having trouble fetching your sitemap, so don’t panic if you’re having trouble submitting URLs to Google. Google has numerous ways to discover your URLs, and a sitemap is only one. If you do a site: search for your domain in Google and see the URLs you’re missing, congratulations (!) your pages are indexed and available to rank. The same is true if you use the GSC Coverage Report and find these pages under the Valid > Indexed, not submitted in sitemap report.
