Why doesn't my store's sitemap match the sitemap.xml?

[mrtn]

Hi

We have recently opened the store and was looking to submit the store's sitemap, however when opening the sitemap.xml it doesn't marry up to site's map. Any ideas?

mylullaby.co.uk/sitemap.xml 

This XML file does not appear to have any style information associated with it. The document tree is shown below.
<sitemapindex xmlns="http://www.sitemaps.org/schemas/sitemap/0.9">
<!--
 This is the parent sitemap linking to additional sitemaps for products, collections and pages as shown below. The sitemap can not be edited manually, but is kept up to date in real time. 
-->
<sitemap>
<loc>
https://mylullaby.co.uk/sitemap_products_1.xml?from=4558942994491&to=4574271701051
</loc>
</sitemap>
<sitemap>
<loc>https://mylullaby.co.uk/sitemap_pages_1.xml</loc>
</sitemap>
<sitemap>
<loc>https://mylullaby.co.uk/sitemap_collections_1.xml</loc>
</sitemap>
<sitemap>
<loc>https://mylullaby.co.uk/sitemap_blogs_1.xml</loc>
</sitemap>
</sitemapindex>

[Julie · Accepted solution]

Hi, @mrtn!

Julie here from Shopify Support.

Unlike traditional sitemaps, Shopify's sitemaps are structured quite a bit differently, which can sometimes cause confusion. While most smaller websites have all the sitemap content listed in a single file, Shopify breaks it down into sections. All of the sections that search engines require is listed in the sitemap's document tree, making it easy for you to submit a single sitemap.

You can see this by taking a look at the parent sitemap.xml file you've shared above. There, you'll notice the sitemap link to individual sections. For example, you'll notice that the first page listed in your sitemap is specifically for your Products. Below that you'll see more subsections, with those links leading to content that includes your Pages, Collections, and Blogs. 

Are you trying to submit your sitemap to Google? If so, we actually have a help doc that outlines the process here. It's important to note that the only sitemap you are required to submit is the sitemap.xml file; entering any other sitemap filename will typically result in an error message from Google. After you submit your sitemap, Google will use it to crawl and index your site. Keep in mind that the process can take time, so there's no need to worry if the success status doesn't appear immediately. 

I hope this clears things up, but please let me know if you have any further questions.

[mfragasa23]

I've tried all that is said in the replies for sitemap but all are couldnt fetch.

Can someone had a success on this? Or do I need to wait for days and Couldnt fetch remarks with be marked success?

[Julie]

Hey, @mfragasa23!

Thanks for the screenshot. Taking a look, it appears as though you may have submitted several sitemaps. 

Typically, the "couldn't fetch" error message occurs when trying to submit a sitemap other than the sitemap.xml file.To clarify, the sitemap.xml file is the only file that should be submitted to Google. Taking a look at your screenshot, it looks like several sitemaps aside from the sitemap.xml file were submitted, so you'll just need to make sure that the sitemap.xml is the only sitemap there. Instructions on how to remove sitemaps from Google Search Console can be found here.

It would also be helpful to know if you are using the sitemap associated with your primary domain. You can see which domain is your primary domain by heading to Online store > Domains. If you've purchased a custom domain, this would typically be your primary domain. If the sitemap you tried submitting isn't the one associated with your primary domain, you'll just want to try resubmitting with that domain. 

Lastly, I recommend checking to see if your property type in Google Search Console is set to "Domain", rather than just "URL prefix". You should be able to see this directly in Google Search Console, by clicking the dropdown arrow next to your URL, and then clicking Add Property. Once there, you should see an option to select the domain property type.

Once you've confirmed the above, feel free to share another screenshot if you are still experiencing the same issue. I'd be happy to take another look.

Looking forward to your update!

[mfragasa23]

Hi Julie,

I did the sitemap removal and just retain sitemap.xml but google confirm
that my shopify can now see on google search. Do i still have to enroll it
in domain? currently it was added as URL. Will my next changes will affect
google search? What to do next.

[Julie]

Thanks for following up, @mfragasa23. I'm glad to hear that you've managed to remove the extra sitemap files.

If you are no longer seeing the "Couldn't fetch" error message, then it's safe to say that you have properly submitted your sitemap using the URL prefix method, which requires you to enter the full URL with the SSL certificate (https). While the domain method can be used, this does involve editing your domain's DNS settings and at this point, doing so won't be necessary.

Thanks again for the update. It sounds like you're all set! 

[Mani05]

Hi team i need to edit this sitemap how can i do can you please guide me i need to remove Product_1 need to remove 1 in url place  and every url 1 need to edit 

Can you plesae help me  how to do this 

hope edit is possible in shopify i thought 

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

<!-- This is the parent sitemap linking to additional sitemaps for products, collections and pages as shown below. The sitemap can not be edited manually, but is kept up to date in real time. -->

<sitemap>

<loc>https://www.work-tops.com/sitemap_products_1.xml?from=5783907795111&to=6642140151975</loc>

</sitemap>

<sitemap>

<loc>https://www.work-tops.com/sitemap_pages_1.xml</loc>

</sitemap>

<sitemap>

<loc>https://www.work-tops.com/sitemap_collections_1.xml</loc>

</sitemap>

<sitemap>

<loc>https://www.work-tops.com/sitemap_blogs_1.xml</loc>

</sitemap>

</sitemapindex>

[Jason]

---

@Mani05 wrote:

Hi team i need to edit this sitemap how can i do can you please guide me i need to remove Product_1 need to remove 1 in url place  and every url 1 need to edit 

---

Why do you need to do that? You won't be able to rename the sitemaps but it also should not be causing you any issues. For larger shops you can have multiple sitemaps for pages, collections or products so the 1 is just indicating that it's the first page.

[Amine86]

bonjour, pouvez-vous m'aider svp?

en voulant indéxée mon url https://thegreenflowers.fr par sitmap via search console (car indéxé mais non envoyé par sitmap) donc j'ai réalisé ceci: j'ai voulu indexer https://thegreenflowers.fr/sitemap.xml alors que le sitemap est renseigné et validé.

ça m'a créé un parent sitemap et indéxé cette page. comment annuler ça et remettre à l'origine mon sitemap?

Merci 

[Albertan]

hello!

I have a similar issue but i am unsure how to edit DNS Settings

this is what I have been doing so far but have not made any progress in the last month. I keep submitting, deleting and resubmitting the site map.

is there any advice you could give me?

[Patrik1]

HI! Having issue for months now . Saw that could not be fetched!

Trying to remove property added it back same issue!

Need urgent help our traffic drop like crazy after october strugling with shop.

try more times to send sitemap same issue!

need urgent help

[annastaf]

I have the exact same issue. Have tried doing all the above. The sitemap is also validated and nothing looks wrong but the sitemap cannot be fetched in Google Search Console. 

[Pic16f876]

Same issue here,

I have a domain property in search console. Only added the main xml url (that can be opened in a browser normally) and my domain is my main domain in shopify. Still unable to fetch.