<blockquote>Note: This post is auto-generated by ChatGPT based on my recent experience while trying to resolve the issue. The information here is for reference only and may not be entirely accurate. You are welcome to add your comments below.</blockquote>Managing sitemaps is a critical component of ensuring that your website is crawled and indexed effectively by Google. However, submitting too many sitemaps or overwhelming Google’s crawlers can lead to delays, poor user experience, and frustrating errors like “Could not be fetched.” In this post, we'll explore best practices for optimizing sitemap submissions, managing Google’s crawl budget, and keeping your content indexed efficiently.<figure class="image"><img src="https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1452421822248-d4c2b47f0c81?crop=entropy&amp;cs=tinysrgb&amp;fit=max&amp;fm=jpg&amp;ixid=M3wxNTQwMTB8MHwxfHNlYXJjaHwxfHxzaXRlJTIwbWFwfGVufDB8fHx8MTcyNzYxNTE3N3ww&amp;ixlib=rb-4.0.3&amp;q=80&amp;w=1080"><figcaption>Photo by <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://unsplash.com/@dariuszsankowski?utm_source=DNX&amp;utm_medium=referral">Dariusz Sankowski</a> on <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://unsplash.com/?utm_source=DNX&amp;utm_medium=referral">Unsplash</a></figcaption></figure><h4>1. Why Sitemaps Matter for SEO</h4>A sitemap is an XML file that helps search engines understand the structure of your website and find important pages. Google relies on sitemaps to efficiently crawl websites, especially large or complex sites with lots of dynamic or infrequently linked pages.When managed properly, sitemaps improve indexing, making it easier for Google to discover and prioritize your content. However, submitting too many sitemaps or poorly organized ones can hinder indexing.<h4>2. Common Issues with Sitemap Submissions</h4>Many website owners encounter errors such as “Couldn't fetch” or delayed indexing after submitting their sitemaps. Here’s why these issues occur:<ul><li>Overwhelming Google’s Crawl Budget: Submitting a large number of sitemaps in a short time can overload Google’s crawlers, leading to delays or failures in processing.</li><li>Poor Feedback: Google may report a failure (“Couldn't fetch”) without clearly stating that the sitemap is pending for crawling. This can cause confusion about whether or not the sitemap was processed.</li></ul><h4>3. Best Practices for Sitemap Submission</h4>a) Stagger Sitemap SubmissionsIf your website generates multiple sitemaps (especially for large sites with thousands of URLs), avoid submitting them all at once. Staggering your submissions allows Google to process each sitemap in smaller batches, reducing the load on their crawlers and minimizing errors.How to Stagger Submissions:<ul><li>Submit a few sitemaps at a time, spaced out over several days or weeks.</li><li>Focus on submitting sitemaps for newly updated or more important content first.</li></ul>b) Combine Sitemaps StrategicallyRather than submitting dozens of small sitemaps, consider combining related URLs into fewer, larger sitemaps. By organizing your content into logical groups (e.g., by category, section, or content type), you can reduce the total number of sitemaps submitted, making it easier for Google to process your content.Example:<ul><li>Group all meet results under a single sitemap (e.g., <code>meet-results.xml</code>), rather than having a separate sitemap for each meet.</li><li>Use a sitemap index file to reference multiple sitemaps if your site is still too large for one sitemap.</li></ul>c) Optimize Sitemap SizeWhile the official limit is 50,000 URLs per sitemap, it’s often better to keep your sitemaps smaller, around 5,000 to 10,000 URLs. Smaller sitemaps tend to get processed faster and more efficiently by Google.Benefits of Smaller Sitemaps:<ul><li>Easier to regenerate and update.</li><li>Reduced risk of delays or errors during submission.</li><li>Faster crawl and indexing for important pages.</li></ul>d) Adjust Priority and Change FrequencyUse the <code>priority</code> and <code>changefreq</code> fields in your sitemap to guide Google on how often to re-crawl pages and how important they are relative to other content on your site. For example, a newly added meet or event page may require frequent crawling, while static pages need less attention.Recommended Settings:<ul><li>Newly added or frequently updated pages: Use <code>priority</code> of <code>0.8</code> to <code>0.9</code> and <code>changefreq</code> of <code>daily</code> or <code>weekly</code>.</li><li>Older or rarely updated pages: Use <code>priority</code> of <code>0.3</code> to <code>0.5</code> and <code>changefreq</code> of <code>monthly</code> or <code>yearly</code>.</li></ul>e) Monitor in Google Search ConsoleAlways monitor your sitemap submissions through Google Search Console. Google will report any issues, such as parsing errors or failed submissions, so you can address them quickly.Steps:<ul><li>Log into Google Search Console and navigate to the “Sitemaps” section.</li><li>Check the status of each submitted sitemap.</li><li>If you see a “Couldn't fetch” error, wait before resubmitting to avoid overloading Google.</li></ul><h4>4. What to Do if Google Reports "Couldn't fetch"</h4>If you encounter this message after submitting a sitemap, it doesn’t always mean that Google is ignoring your sitemap. It often indicates that the sitemap is still in the queue to be processed. Here’s what you can do:<ul><li>Wait: Give Google time to process the sitemap, especially if you’ve recently submitted multiple sitemaps.</li><li>Don’t Resubmit Too Soon: Repeatedly submitting the same sitemap too quickly may delay Google’s ability to process it.</li><li>Check for Issues: Ensure there are no syntax errors in the sitemap and that it’s accessible to Google (no <code>robots.txt</code> blocks or server issues).</li></ul><h4>5. The Importance of Pinging Google</h4>While Google typically crawls your site based on its algorithm, you can speed up the indexing process by pinging Google with your sitemap URL when new content is added or updated. This helps Google recognize that fresh content is available.How to Ping Google:<pre><code class="language-css">http://www.google.com/ping?sitemap=https://example.com/sitemap.xml</code></pre>This simple step notifies Google of the changes without overwhelming its crawlers.<h4>6. Conclusion: Simplify and Optimize Your Sitemap Strategy</h4>To ensure that Google crawls and indexes your content efficiently, focus on optimizing how and when you submit your sitemaps. Avoid overwhelming Google with too many sitemaps at once, and use priority and frequency settings to guide its crawlers to the most important content.By staggering submissions, combining smaller sitemaps, and monitoring the process in Google Search Console, you’ll improve your site’s crawlability and avoid the frustrating “Couldn't fetch” errors.

Managing sitemaps is a critical component of ensuring that your website is crawled and indexed effectively by Google. However, submitting too many sitemaps or overwhelming Google’s crawlers can lead to delays, poor user experience, and frustrating errors like “Could not be fetched.” In this post, we'll explore best practices for optimizing sitemap submissions, managing Google’s crawl budget, and keeping your content indexed efficiently.

All Posts In Google