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Troubleshooting & FAQs
Sitemap Import Failures
Fix failed sitemap imports and ensure Geordy can discover all your pages automatically.
If your sitemap import fails, you can still add pages manually or use link-rel tags for automatic discovery. This guide will help you diagnose and fix common sitemap issues to enable bulk URL imports.
Sitemap Import Errors
Common symptoms of this issue
Sitemap status shows "Failed"
0 URLs imported after submission
Error message referencing 404, 403, or invalid XML
Steps to Fix
1
Verify Sitemap URL
Ensure your sitemap URL is correct and properly formatted.
Add Your URLs Guide →Correct format: https://example.com/sitemap.xml
Incorrect: /sitemap.xml (relative path)
2
Check Public Accessibility
Verify that your sitemap is publicly accessible without authentication or IP restrictions.
Common Issue
Sitemaps behind login pages, staging environments with password protection, or IP-restricted servers will fail to import.
3
Test Manually
Open the sitemap URL in your browser to confirm it downloads or displays valid XML.
A valid sitemap should:
- • Display XML content or trigger a download
- • Contain
<urlset>and<url>tags - • Not show 404, 403, or 500 errors
4
Ensure HTTPS Protocol
Use the full HTTPS URL, not HTTP or a relative path.
5
Retry Import
After fixing the issues, return to the Add URLs page and retry the sitemap import.
Verification
After reimporting, the Sitemap status should change to Completed and display a URL count showing how many pages were discovered.
Alternative Methods to Add Pages
If sitemap import continues to fail, you can still add pages using these methods:
- • Manual URL Entry: Add individual URLs directly through the dashboard interface
- • Link-rel Tags: Install link-rel tags in your HTML
<head>for automatic discovery - see the Link-rel Reference Guide - • JSON-LD Schema: Use structured data for enhanced page discovery - see the JSON-LD Schema Reference
Sitemap Import Status
https://example.com/sitemap.xml
Import failed - Check URL and retry
Failed
Common Issues:
- • Sitemap URL returns 404 or 403 error
- • Invalid XML structure
- • Sitemap behind authentication
- • Using HTTP instead of HTTPS
Sitemap Format Requirements
Your sitemap must follow the standard XML sitemap protocol:
- • Valid XML structure: Properly formatted with opening and closing tags
- • Sitemap index support: Geordy can process sitemap index files that reference multiple sitemaps
- • Maximum size: Individual sitemaps should not exceed 50MB or 50,000 URLs
- • Encoding: UTF-8 encoding is required