Sitemap URL errors: URL not allowed and more

These errors mean some addresses in your sitemap don't match where the sitemap lives, can't be read, or can't be crawled. Make every address a full URL on the same host and protocol as the sitemap.

Where you see it

On a sitemap's details page in Indexing > Sitemaps, under Sitemap can be read, but has errors.

What it means

A sitemap covers its own folder and everything below it, on the same host and protocol. Addresses outside that, or written wrong, are errors.

Google still reads the other addresses in the file.

Common causes

The site moved to https or to www, and the sitemap still lists the old addresses.
The sitemap sits in a subfolder, such as /blog/sitemap.xml, but lists pages outside /blog/.
Addresses are relative (mypage.html) instead of full (https://www.example.com/mypage.html).
Addresses contain spaces, quotes, or other characters that are not encoded.
Listed pages redirect several times, or robots.txt blocks them.

Find the cause

Open the error in Search Console and note the example addresses and line numbers.
Compare an example address with the sitemap's own address: protocol, www, and folder.
Inspect an example address with URL Inspection to see if Google can crawl it.

How to fix it

List only full addresses that start exactly like the sitemap's own address.
Put the sitemap at the root of the site, so it can cover every folder.
Replace redirected addresses with their final address.
Resubmit the sitemap.

Each message and its fix

"URL not allowed"

The sitemap includes addresses at a higher level or on a different domain than the sitemap file.

Move the sitemap to the site root, or list only addresses in its folder and below.
Make every address start with the same protocol and host as the sitemap. http and https count as different.

"Path mismatch: Missing www"

The sitemap's own address has no www, but the addresses it lists do.

Change the listed addresses to match the sitemap's location, or submit the sitemap from the www address.

"Path mismatch: Includes www"

The sitemap's own address has www, but the addresses it lists do not.

Add www to the listed addresses, or submit the sitemap from the address without www.

"Invalid URL"

An address has unsupported characters, spaces, or quotes, or is written wrong, such as htp://.

Encode and escape every address. Paste one into a browser to check that it loads.

"URLs not accessible"

Google got an error when it tried to crawl an address in the sitemap.

Inspect the address with URL Inspection to see whether Google can reach it.

"URLs not followed"

Google could not crawl some addresses, often because of too many redirects or relative addresses.

Replace redirected addresses with the final ones. Use permanent redirects, not JavaScript or meta refresh.
Use full addresses, not relative ones.

"Sitemap contains urls which are blocked by robots.txt"

robots.txt stops Google from reading the sitemap or some of the addresses in it.

Use URL Inspection to find which address is blocked.
Change robots.txt to allow Googlebot, or take pages you block on purpose out of the sitemap.

See which of your pages Google skipped, and why. Free for up to 500 pages.

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On your platform

Webflow

Turn on Auto-generate sitemap in Site settings > SEO > Sitemap, then publish. The sitemap is at /sitemap.xml and uses your default domain, so set one. Without a default domain, the sitemap's addresses redirect, which leads to redirect errors. Webflow pages not indexed

WordPress

WordPress itself serves /wp-sitemap.xml. Yoast SEO and Rank Math serve /sitemap_index.xml instead, and Yoast turns off the WordPress one. Submit the address your site really uses. WordPress turns its sitemap off when Settings > Reading > Discourage search engines from indexing this site is checked. WordPress pages not indexed

Catch sitemap problems before they cost you pages

On paid plans, CrawlCoach downloads your sitemaps every day and reads Search Console's sitemap data for each fix list. When a sitemap stops loading, Search Console reports errors in it, or Google stops reading it, the fix goes in your fix list with the steps and a link to the right guide. See plans and prices.

Questions

What does URL not allowed mean in a sitemap?

The sitemap lists an address it is not allowed to cover: one above its own folder, or on another host or protocol. A sitemap at https://www.example.com/blog/sitemap.xml can't list https://www.example.com/ or https://example.com/blog/post.

Can one sitemap list pages from several domains?

Yes, if you set up cross-site submission: you verify every site in Search Console and submit the sitemap there, or you reference it from each site's robots.txt. Without that, list only addresses on the sitemap's own host.

Sources

Checked on October 8, 2026. Search Console's wording can change after that date.

Sitemap URL errors: URL not allowed, Path mismatch, and Invalid URL