What is an XML sitemap?

Understand what XML sitemaps contain, when they help discovery, and how to check one.

The short answer

An XML sitemap lists canonical URLs that a site wants search engines to discover and may include useful modification dates.

Step by step

Open the sitemap URL or run Website Score.
Check that URLs are canonical, public, and return the expected status.
Remove duplicates, redirects, API routes, and temporary pages.
Reference the sitemap from robots.txt and submit it in Search Console when appropriate.

Technical details

A sitemap supports discovery but does not guarantee indexing or ranking. Internal links and page quality still matter.

Common mistakes

Including noindex or redirected URLs.
Regenerating every last-modified date on every deployment.
Treating a sitemap as a substitute for internal links.

Limitations

Website Score checks a discovered sitemap's availability; it does not validate every URL in a large sitemap.

Related SiteIndex tool

Use Website Score for the practical check described here.

Open Website Score Read its documentation