Warning Technical SEO
Non-indexable URL in XML sitemap
- Severity
- Warning
- Impact
- Medium
- Effort to fix
- Low
- Issue code
sitemap_noindex
Why it matters
The sitemap lists a URL that is noindexed or canonicalised elsewhere, which sends conflicting signals.
How to fix it
Remove non-indexable URLs from the sitemap.
What this means
The URL is listed in the XML sitemap and returns a 200, but it is not indexable: it has a noindex directive, or its canonical tag points to another URL.
Why it matters
The sitemap says "index this" while the page says "do not index this". Search engines resolve the conflict by trusting the page, but the mixed signal wastes crawling and makes the sitemap a less reliable guide to which pages matter. Search Console flags these URLs too.
Which signal is wrong?
| Situation | Fix |
|---|---|
| The page should be in search | Remove the noindex, or fix the canonical to point at itself. See Noindex directive and Canonical points to another URL |
| The page should not be in search | Remove it from the sitemap |
| The page is a copy of another | Remove it from the sitemap and list the canonical URL instead |
Common causes
- A sitemap plugin that lists every page of a post type, including ones set to noindex individually.
- Paginated or filtered URLs canonicalised to page one but still listed.
- A sitemap built from the database rather than from the pages' final indexing settings.
How to fix it
Fix the source of the sitemap rather than editing the file by hand. Most SEO plugins exclude noindex pages automatically once their settings agree; custom sitemaps should use the same rules that decide each page's robots tag and canonical.
Verify the fix
Recrawl and resubmit the sitemap in Google Search Console. URLs that are removed from the sitemap, or made indexable, drop out of this issue.
How it affects your score
Finding this issue on any page costs the Technical SEO score 3 points, plus up to 12 more depending on the share of crawled pages affected. Weakens rankings, crawling or measurement. Fix after critical issues.
Find the affected URLs
Open Crawl > Issues and pick Non-indexable URL in XML sitemap. Each affected URL is listed with its evidence, and Copy URLs or Export URLs hands the list to a developer. The issue also appears in the Action Plan, ranked by impact (medium) and effort (low), and in the issues CSV under the code sitemap_noindex. After fixing, run a new audit and use Compare to confirm the URLs moved to fixed.