Free Sitemap Checker: Validate Your XML Sitemap for SEO
Your XML sitemap is a roadmap for search engines — it tells them which pages to crawl and how often. A broken sitemap means search engines might miss your most important content, while a bloated sitemap wastes crawl budget on low-value pages.
Citedy's free Sitemap Checker validates your XML sitemap and flags issues that could hurt indexing.
How It Works
- Visit citedy.com/tools/sitemap-checker
- Enter your sitemap URL (usually domain.com/sitemap.xml)
- Get validation results for format, URLs, and best practices
- Fix issues based on specific recommendations
Key Features
Use Cases
After site launches: Verify the sitemap includes all important pages and no test/staging URLs.
Indexing troubleshooting: When new pages aren't getting indexed, a broken sitemap is often the cause.
Regular maintenance: Quarterly sitemap validation catches drift as pages are added and removed.
CMS migrations: Ensure the new CMS generates correct sitemaps with proper URLs.
vs Paid Alternatives
Screaming Frog ($259/year) and Sitebulb ($35/mo) include sitemap validation in site audits. Citedy's tool provides focused sitemap checking for free — no software installation required.
FAQ
How large should my sitemap be?
Keep it under 50,000 URLs and 50MB per file. For larger sites, use a sitemap index file to reference multiple sub-sitemaps.
Should I include every page in my sitemap?
Include only pages you want indexed. Exclude paginated pages, filter pages, admin pages, and thin content pages.
How often should I update my sitemap?
Your CMS should auto-generate sitemaps when content changes. If manual, update weekly or whenever you publish new content.
Check Your Sitemap
Validate your sitemap → Free and instant. Get 100 free credits.