Technical fix guide
Sitemap Contains Dead URLs
Sampled sitemap URLs returned errors.
Issue ID: SITEMAP-DEAD-001
Severity: high
Impact: High
Effort: M
Use this article when
- You need deeper remediation guidance than the issue card can show.
- You want CMS-specific steps before handing the fix to a developer.
- You want a repeatable re-check path after shipping the change.
What this issue is
Sampled sitemap URLs returned errors.
Why it matters
Sampled sitemap URLs returned errors. This affects crawlability, rendering, and whether the site can be interpreted correctly by search engines.
How we detect it
- FreeSiteAudit flags this issue when the rule for SITEMAP-DEAD-001 fails and the page evidence points to Http headers.
- You can usually confirm this by checking the page source or the relevant page settings inside your CMS.
Evidence examples
Check the affected page source, rendered output, or relevant CMS setting to confirm the missing or incorrect element.
How to fix it
- 1Remove dead URLs from your sitemap
- 2Fix or redirect broken pages
- 3Use a sitemap generator that validates URLs
How to re-check it
- Fetch your sitemap and verify all URLs return 200