Best SEO Checklist
ONE FOCUSED ACTION

Audit XML sitemaps for accuracy and inclusion of indexable URLs.

Indexability optimization

1 checklist items

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    Why this matters

    Sitemaps guide search engines to discover important pages but should exclude non-indexable or redirected pages to avoid crawl waste.

    A STARTING-POINT EXAMPLE

    Hypothetical standard operating procedure

    Adapt this example to your site, access, tools, and change process. It is our suggested procedure, informed by the sources below.

    1. Obtain current sitemap files and review URL lists.
    2. Cross-reference URLs against site noindex tags and redirect mappings.
    3. Remove URLs blocked by robots.txt or tagged as noindex from sitemaps.
    4. Submit updated sitemaps via Search Console and monitor indexing status.
    5. Periodically audit sitemap freshness and accuracy.

    Watch for

    Including noindex or redirect URLs in sitemaps may confuse crawlers and dilute crawl budget.

    Definition of done

    Sitemaps contain only canonical, indexable URLs free from redirects or noindex pages.

    Sources & attribution

    1. Indexability Tool Checklist for Faster SEO Audits and Fixes ↗

    Original checklist wording and example SOP by Best SEO Checklist, using source-grounded AI assistance. Editorial contact: Ted Kubaitis, @tedkubaitis on Teams. Check current source guidance before implementation.