Google search console cannot fetch the sitemap

Hi @janehaselden

Upon checking the sitemap generated by the Yoast SEO plugin, it does look like it’s loading as expected – https://kentconnects.gov.uk/sitemap_index.xml

Would it be possible for you to remove and resubmit the sitemap (make sure to only submit /sitemap_index.xml) and monitor it for a few days and see if it updates accordingly?

Are there no additional details from Google Search Console aside from the ‘couldn’t fetch’ message that could possibly point as to where the issue lies?

Also, it looks like you are currently only on HTTP and haven’t added SSL (HTTPS) to your website. Could you check if you’ve added the correct domain (only HTTP) when adding your website in Google Search Console?

Hi Michael

Yes, I have definately added only the HTTP as I am persuading the organisation to buy an SSL so I have no HTTPS anywhere on their website or on GSC.

I have deleted and reloaded the sitemap_index.xml about 20 times over the last 2/3 days but despite it saying “Sitemap submitted successfully”, it still shows it as Couldn’t fetch.

When I click the Couldn’t fetch item – it comes up with “Sitemap could not be read – General HTTP error. We encountered an error while trying to access your Sitemap. Please ensure your Sitemap follows our guidelines and can be accessed at the location you provided and then resubmit.” The guidelines just point to guidance about how to write a good sitemap.

So I have no other idea what is wrong??

Thanks for answering.

Hi,
I HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM.

When I enter the sitemap_index.xml on Google Search Console I see the message: “Sitemap could not be read – General HTTP error. We encountered an error while trying to access your Sitemap. Please ensure your Sitemap follows our guidelines and can be accessed at the location you provided and then resubmit.”

@janehaselden

As we confirmed your sitemap looks technically fine, we don’t expect Google Search Console to show the couldn’t fetch error.

Reviewing further your robots.txt, we’ve noticed that it includes a sitemap link which we don’t recommend when you’ve already submitted the same sitemap from Google Search Console. This might create ambiguous results in Google Search Console.

We usually recommend the file to look like this:

User-Agent: *
Disallow: /wp_admin/
Allow: /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php

We have additional recommendations on robots.txt here:?https://yoast.com/wordpress-robots-txt-example/

You can edit the robots.txt file from Yoast SEO settings.

After this update check sitemap issue after 48 hours. It can take longer though depending on how often your website is spidered by Google.

If the issue persists even after this correction, unfortunately, there’s nothing else we can do at this point since the Yoast sitemap is working fine and generating the appropriate data. Just give it some time or get in touch with Google through this URL: https://support.google.com/webmasters/community/

@soniaferra95

Please try the aforementioned suggestions and see if they work for you.

If still not, please open a new request. That way it’s easier to track issues and provide assistance. Thanks!

UPDATE:

I finally removed all references to the domain on Google Search Console. Then once I’d persuaded the client to get an SSL – uploaded that and tried again with GSC with the new https:// url.

The sitemap was accepted immediately! Bingo!

No idea why the https:// version didn’t work – but I’m happy now.

Maybe that’s something to check if others are having the same problem. You can get a free SSL from Let’s Encrypt if that information helps.

Jane

@janehaselden Thanks for confirming that this has corrected it. We are going ahead and marking this issue as resolved but please let us know if you require any further assistance.