Sitemap URL Validator
A sitemap should list only pages you want indexed: canonical, indexable URLs that answer 200 without redirects. This validator reads the sitemap, picks a random sample of 10, 25 or 40 URLs and fetches each one to see what search engines would find – the status code, any redirect, a noindex directive and the canonical tag. URLs on another host are flagged too.
- Encrypted connection
- No sign-up
- Free to use
How to use Sitemap URL Validator
- Enter a website or its sitemap address.
- Choose the sample size.
- Click “Validate sitemap”.
- Fix the URLs with problems and run it again.
Sitemap URL Validator features
Random sample
A fresh sample on every run.
Status codes
4xx and 5xx errors flagged.
Redirects
URLs that move elsewhere listed.
Noindex
Meta robots and X-Robots-Tag.
Canonical check
Canonical pointing to another URL.
Safe fetching
Only public http(s) addresses; private networks are blocked.
When to use Sitemap URL Validator
- Auditing a sitemap after a redesign.
- Checking a CMS plugin’s generated sitemap.
- Finding why “Submitted URL” errors appear in Search Console.
- Spot-checking large e-commerce sitemaps.
Sitemap URL Validator FAQ
Why only a sample?
Fetching tens of thousands of pages would take long and put load on the site. A random sample of 25–40 URLs reliably reveals systematic problems; run it several times for more coverage.
Is a redirect in the sitemap an error?
It is not fatal, but it wastes crawling and sends mixed signals. List the final URL instead.
What does “canonical points elsewhere” mean?
The page says another URL is the preferred version. The sitemap should list that preferred URL, not this one.
Does it check the XML format?
It reports parsing problems it meets, such as missing loc elements or invalid XML, together with the URL results.
Why a sample and not every URL?
Fetching thousands of URLs takes long and puts load on the server. A random sample finds most systematic issues quickly.
Sitemaps with only indexable URLs
Search engines treat a sitemap as a hint about which URLs matter. When a large share of those URLs redirect, return errors or are marked noindex, the hint becomes noise and the sitemap is trusted less.
The validator focuses on the problems that appear most often in practice: old URLs that now redirect, deleted pages, filtered or paginated URLs with a canonical to another page, and staging hosts that slipped into production sitemaps. Each sampled URL is listed with its title, so you can see at a glance what type of page has the problem.
Export the complete list with the Sitemap URL Extractor if you want to check every URL with a crawler.
Tip: fix the problems marked red first, because they affect whether a page can be found at all. Yellow warnings are worth reviewing but are often harmless in context, and blue notes are information. After a change, run the check again to confirm the result – search engines will pick up the change on their next visit to the page.
A sitemap should only list URLs you want indexed. The validator takes a random sample of 10, 25 or 40 URLs from your sitemap and fetches each one to see what a crawler would find: the status code, any redirect, a noindex directive and the canonical tag.
URLs that redirect, return errors, are noindexed or point their canonical elsewhere are reported, because they waste crawl budget and make search engines trust the sitemap less. A sample is usually enough to reveal a systematic problem, such as http URLs in an https site.
Fix the source of the problem – usually the plugin or script that builds the sitemap – rather than single URLs, then validate a new sample.