sitemap index
A sitemap that lists other sitemaps rather than pages.
What sitemap index means
Counting its entries as URLs undercounts a large site by orders of magnitude.
How CrawlCheck measures sitemap index
5 finding codes measure it. Each one’s share of all scans is computed from the live corpus when this page is served, not typed into it.
| Finding code | Share of scans | Guide |
|---|---|---|
DECLARED_SITEMAP_BROKEN | 0.9% | Do AI crawlers and agents respect robots.txt? |
SITEMAP_UNREADABLE | 0.5% | XML sitemap audit: check the file and every URL in it |
SITEMAP_CHILD_BROKEN | 0.1% | dataset |
SITEMAP_URL_OFF_HOST | 0.1% | dataset |
SITEMAP_LASTMOD_INVALID | 0% | dataset |
Every code, its rule and its current rate: the dataset page. Scan a site to see which apply to it.
Terms this definition uses
Related terms in Machine files
The files addressed to machines rather than readers, and what publishing one does and does not buy.
llms.txt · llms-full.txt · agents.md · entity map · entity map parity · machine layer · well-known URI · MCP · agent card · OpenAPI specification · ai.txt · Tool definition · SKILL.md · sitemap origin error · soft 404 on a machine file · tdmrep.json · TDM exception · security.txt · Content Signals · HTTP Message Signatures · changefreq and priority · staging leak · host duplicate
Questions about sitemap index
What is sitemap index?
A sitemap that lists other sitemaps rather than pages.
What does sitemap index not show or guarantee?
A sitemap that lists other sitemaps rather than pages.
How does CrawlCheck measure sitemap index?
Through the finding codes DECLARED_SITEMAP_BROKEN, SITEMAP_UNREADABLE, SITEMAP_CHILD_BROKEN, SITEMAP_URL_OFF_HOST, SITEMAP_LASTMOD_INVALID, each with a stated rule, evidence bytes and a live share of scans on the dataset page.
Which area of the glossary does sitemap index belong to?
Machine files: The files addressed to machines rather than readers, and what publishing one does and does not buy.
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See it in the full glossary · 772 terms across 19 areas.
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