Overview
XML Sitemaps help search engines discover and index your content efficiently. GEO AI automatically generates standards-compliant sitemaps with support for images, custom post types, and taxonomies.Sitemaps help search engines crawl your site 30-50% more efficiently, especially for large sites.
Features
Sitemap Index
Main sitemap.xml that links to individual post type sitemaps
Post Type Sitemaps
Separate sitemaps for posts, pages, and custom post types
Image Sitemaps
Includes featured images and inline images in sitemap entries
Auto-Update
Updates automatically when content is published or modified
Sitemap URLs
Once enabled, your sitemaps are available at:Configuration
Configure Options
- Enable “Add image URLs to sitemaps” for image support
- Select post types to include (posts, pages, custom post types)
Implementation Details
Sitemap Class
includes/class-geoai-sitemaps.php
Sitemap Index Generation
includes/class-geoai-sitemaps.php
Individual Sitemap Generation
includes/class-geoai-sitemaps.php
Serving Sitemaps
includes/class-geoai-sitemaps.php
Sitemap Structure
Sitemap Index Example
Individual Sitemap Example
Sitemap Elements
<loc>
<loc>
Required. The full URL of the page.
<lastmod>
<lastmod>
Optional. Last modification date in ISO 8601 format.GEO AI uses the post’s
post_modified date.<changefreq>
<changefreq>
Optional. How frequently the page likely changes.GEO AI defaults to “weekly” for all pages.Values: always, hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, yearly, never
<priority>
<priority>
Optional. Relative priority of this URL (0.0 to 1.0).GEO AI defaults to 0.8 for all pages.
<image:image>
<image:image>
Optional. Featured image URL for the page.Only included when “Add image URLs” is enabled.
Submitting to Search Engines
- Google Search Console
- Bing Webmaster Tools
- robots.txt
Open Search Console
Visit Google Search Console
Image Sitemaps
When enabled, GEO AI adds image extensions to help search engines discover images:- Helps images appear in Google Image Search
- Improves image discoverability
- Useful for image-heavy sites (portfolios, galleries)
Sitemap Limits
URL Limit
50,000 URLs per sitemap fileGEO AI currently limits to 1,000 posts per sitemap for performance
File Size Limit
50 MB uncompressedTypical WordPress sites rarely approach this limit
- Consider excluding old/outdated content
- Use pagination (planned for future update)
- Split by taxonomy (planned for future update)
Excluding Content
Exclude specific posts from sitemaps:Best Practices
Submit Early
Submit your sitemap to search engines as soon as you launch your site.
Monitor Regularly
Check Google Search Console monthly for sitemap errors or warnings.
Keep It Fresh
Sitemaps update automatically when content changes. No manual intervention needed.
Use Selective Inclusion
Only include post types that should be indexed. Exclude admin pages, drafts, etc.
Flush Permalinks
Always flush rewrite rules after enabling/disabling sitemaps.
Include in robots.txt
Reference your sitemap in robots.txt for maximum discoverability.
Troubleshooting
Sitemap returns 404
Sitemap returns 404
Cause: Rewrite rules not flushedSolution:
- Go to Settings → Permalinks
- Click “Save Changes” (no changes needed)
- Try accessing sitemap.xml again
Sitemap is empty
Sitemap is empty
Check:
- Sitemaps are enabled in Settings → Sitemaps
- You have published posts/pages (not drafts)
- The post type is selected in settings
Images not showing
Images not showing
Check:
- “Add image URLs to sitemaps” is enabled
- Posts have featured images set
- Image URLs are publicly accessible
Duplicate URLs in sitemap
Duplicate URLs in sitemap
Cause: Multiple SEO plugins generating sitemapsSolution: Enable Coexist Mode or disable sitemaps in other plugins
Google reports errors
Google reports errors
Common issues:
- Invalid lastmod dates (check post modified dates)
- Broken image URLs (verify featured images)
- Redirect chains (fix redirect issues)
Validation
Validate your sitemap structure:Validate XML
Use an XML Validator to check syntax
Check Sitemap Protocol
Verify against Sitemaps.org protocol
Performance Considerations
Caching
Sitemaps are generated on-the-fly. Consider caching for high-traffic sites.
Query Limits
Default limit of 1,000 posts prevents database overload on large sites.
Enable Caching
Related Features
Robots Meta
Control indexing per post
Schema Markup
Structured data for search
AI Crawler Control
Manage AI bot access