Automatic discovery
Read robots.txt declarations and check the standard sitemap.xml, sitemap_index.xml, and wp-sitemap.xml locations.
Free XML sitemap checker / bounded live audit
Find the sitemap. Then test what it actually lists.
Enter a website or exact sitemap URL. RankLatch finds standard and WordPress sitemap locations, follows a bounded same-host index, and samples live pages for the conflicts that XML alone cannot reveal.
✓ No signup✓ Auto-discovery✓ Read-only
5maximum sitemap files
8live page samples
3standard paths checked
$0no account required
Check whether sitemap entries still behave like canonical, indexable pages.
A parseable sitemap can still list redirects, errors, noindex pages, HTTP variants, duplicates, or URLs whose canonical points elsewhere. RankLatch separates structure findings from a clearly labeled live sample.
Bounded index traversal
Follow up to four same-host child URL sets without allowing a public request to become an unbounded crawl.
Entry hygiene
Surface malformed, external, duplicate, insecure, and incorrectly dated entries in the checked subset.
Live page conflicts
Sample status, redirects, noindex directives, and declared canonical alignment on real sitemap URLs.
Useful evidence without an exhaustive-crawl claim.
- ✓A supported public URL set or sitemap index was found
- ✓URL counts and selected entry-format conflicts
- ✓Up to four same-host child URL sets
- ✓Up to eight live page responses, directives, and canonicals
- —Google submission, crawling, indexing, or ranking status
- —Every URL in a large sitemap or deeply nested index
- —Full XML Schema Definition validation
- —JavaScript rendering, analytics, internal links, and orphan-page discovery
Discovery → approved baseline
The sitemap already feeds RankLatch onboarding.
Once you add a site, RankLatch uses bounded sitemap discovery to select public pages within the plan limit, captures their protected fields, and waits for your approval before monitoring begins.
See continuous monitoring →Straight answers
Before you check.
This tool tests a useful bounded subset. Search Console and a full crawler remain necessary when every URL must be audited.
01How does RankLatch find the sitemap?+
Enter a homepage and RankLatch checks Sitemap declarations in robots.txt plus /sitemap.xml, /sitemap_index.xml, and /wp-sitemap.xml. You can also enter an exact XML sitemap URL.
02Does it check every URL?+
Not on this free public endpoint. RankLatch follows up to four same-host child sitemap files, validates up to 5,000 entries per fetched file, and runs live page checks on the first eight valid same-host URLs. The result labels every cap.
03What does the live sample check?+
It checks the initial and final HTTP response, supported server redirects, page-level noindex directives, and whether a declared canonical points back to the sampled URL.
04Is a missing lastmod value an error?+
No. lastmod is optional. RankLatch flags malformed or future-dated values when present, but it does not invent a freshness requirement or penalize an omitted optional field.
05Does a clean sitemap guarantee indexing?+
No. A sitemap helps discovery and expresses preferred URLs, but it does not guarantee crawling, indexing, rankings, or traffic. Google Search Console remains the source of truth for submitted and indexed coverage.
06Does this submit the sitemap to search engines?+
No. The checker is read-only. Submit the approved sitemap through Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools after reviewing the result.
07Is this a complete XML schema validator?+
No. It recognizes URL sets and sitemap indexes, checks required locations and selected date/host patterns, and samples live pages. It does not claim full XSD validation or exhaustive crawling.