How to fix crawled but missing from the sitemap

This finding identifies URLs that search engines have found by crawling links, but which are not listed in your XML sitemap. This suggests a discrepancy between what you want indexed and what is actually available.

What is wrong

You will see this when your crawl data shows 'live' pages that are absent from your sitemap.xml file. This often happens with newly created pages or when a sitemap plugin fails to update automatically.

Why it matters

An XML sitemap is your way of telling Google which URLs you consider high quality and worthy of indexing. If important pages are missing, Google may crawl them less frequently. Conversely, if the missing pages are low-quality 'junk' URLs, they should be blocked or removed, not just left out of the sitemap.

How to fix it

1. Verify the URL's status

Determine if the missing URL should be indexed. If it is a thank-you page, a filter result, or a duplicate, add a 'noindex' tag instead of adding it to the sitemap.

2. Update your sitemap configuration

If the URL is important, check your CMS or sitemap plugin settings. Ensure the relevant post types (e.g., 'Products' or 'Resources') are selected for inclusion in the sitemap generation.

3. Manually add URLs if necessary

If you use a static sitemap, manually add the missing entries. If using a plugin, try 'Regenerating' the sitemap to force an update of the XML file.

Platform notes

In WordPress, check Yoast SEO > Search Appearance or Rank Math > Sitemap Settings to ensure all your public post types are toggled to 'On'.