Warning Technical SEO
Non-200 URL in XML sitemap
- Severity
- Warning
- Impact
- Medium
- Effort to fix
- Low
- Issue code
sitemap_non200
Why it matters
Sitemaps should only list live, indexable URLs. Errors and redirects in the sitemap reduce trust in it.
How to fix it
Remove this URL from the sitemap or replace it with its final destination.
What this means
The URL is listed in the XML sitemap but did not return a 200: it redirects, returns an error, or failed to load. The evidence shows the status, for example HTTP 301 or HTTP 404. Rate-limited URLs are skipped, since their status is unknown.
Why it matters
A sitemap is meant to list the pages you want indexed, at their final URLs. Search engines use it as a hint about what matters. When it lists redirects and dead pages, they waste crawling on URLs that are not pages, and trust the sitemap less as a guide. Search Console also reports these URLs as errors.
Common causes
- The sitemap is a static file that was never regenerated after pages were deleted or moved.
- URLs in the sitemap use a different form than the site:
http://instead ofhttps://, a missingwww, or a trailing slash the site redirects away. - Deleted products or posts that a plugin still lists.
- A migration where the old sitemap stayed in place.
How to fix it
| Status | Action |
|---|---|
| 301, 302, 308 | Replace the URL with its final destination |
| 404, 410 | Remove it from the sitemap |
| 5xx or fetch error | Fix the page if it should exist; otherwise remove it |
Better still, generate the sitemap automatically from your CMS or framework, so it only ever lists live, indexable pages.
Verify the fix
Recrawl. Then resubmit the sitemap in Google Search Console under Sitemaps and watch its error count fall. See also Non-indexable URL in XML sitemap.
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-200 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_non200. After fixing, run a new audit and use Compare to confirm the URLs moved to fixed.