An XML sitemap is a file that lists preferred site URLs and optional metadata for search engines. Claude SEO analyzes existing sitemaps for format, status, canonical, indexability, and freshness issues, or generates new sitemaps with industry templates and quality gates.
Audit a reachable sitemap or create owner-reviewed draft XML from a verified URL plan.
OUTCOME
A sitemap validation report or draft XML split at both protocol limits when required.
REQUIRED INPUT
A site or sitemap URL, or the generate route, supplied to /seo sitemap <url | generate>.
READINESS
Audit mode needs reachable XML. Generation needs reviewed canonical and indexability decisions plus any subtype requirements.
LOCAL OUTPUT
A validation report or draft sitemap XML, optional sitemap index, and STRUCTURE.md documentation.
SIDE EFFECTS
Fetches available site resources and writes local drafts. It does not deploy files or submit them to a search engine.
COST + APPROVAL
The core route needs no separate paid provider. The owner must verify, approve deployment, and confirm discovery or submission.
// HOW IT WORKS
What can sitemap analysis and generation do?
The sitemap skill operates in two modes. Analysis mode validates an existing sitemap against the protocol specification and SEO best practices. Generation mode creates a new sitemap with industry-specific planning templates and review gates for large, repetitive page sets.
In analysis mode, it attempts HTTP checks for reachable URLs, validates XML format, flags deprecated tags, and compares available crawl results with the sitemap to find gaps. Authentication, network access, or rate limits can make URL checks partial. In generation mode, it asks for your business type, plans the structure interactively, and applies safeguards at 30+ and 50+ location pages.
What it validates
The analysis mode checks your sitemap against the protocol specification and Google's documented best practices. It attempts accessibility checks for reachable URLs and compares the sitemap with available crawl results. The report labels partial checks when authentication, network access, or rate limits prevent complete coverage.
50K
URL LIMIT VALIDATION
Verifies each uncompressed sitemap stays at or below both protocol limits: 50,000 URLs and 50 MB. Recommends sitemap index files for larger sites, optionally split by content type.
200
HTTP STATUS CHECK
Attempts HTTP checks for reachable sitemap URLs. Flags observed non-200 responses, redirects that should point to final destinations, and noindexed URLs. Reports partial coverage when access or rate limits intervene.
XML
FORMAT VALIDATION
Validates XML structure, encoding, namespace declarations, and proper element nesting. Reports specific parsing errors with line numbers. Checks for HTTPS-only URLs and no non-canonical entries.
6
COMMON ISSUES
Detects common issues by severity: exceeding 50,000 URLs or 50 MB uncompressed, observed non-200 responses, noindexed URLs, redirects, unreliable lastmod values, and ignored priority/changefreq tags.
5
QUALITY GATES
In generation mode, treats integration, template, glossary, product, and profile pages as candidates for review at scale. No word count makes a page safe. Each URL needs accurate data, standalone value, and human review. Vendor gates warn at 30+ location pages and stop for approval at 50+.
GAP
COVERAGE ANALYSIS
Compares crawled pages against sitemap entries to find pages missing from the sitemap. Also checks that the sitemap is referenced in robots.txt for search engine discovery.
// OUTPUT
What does the sitemap report include?
The output depends on the mode. Analysis produces a validation report with prioritized issues and any coverage limitations. Generation produces draft sitemap XML (or split files with an index) and a STRUCTURE.md file for owner review.
Analysis mode output
VALIDATION-REPORT.md - complete analysis results
Issues list - organized by severity (Critical, High, Medium, Low, Info)
Coverage gap - pages found by crawling but missing from sitemap
Recommendations - specific fixes for each issue
Generation mode output
sitemap.xml - valid XML sitemap (or split files with sitemap index)
STRUCTURE.md - site architecture documentation
URL count - total URLs and organization summary
Correct sitemap format
For a standard URL entry, loc is required and lastmod is optional when accurate. Google ignores priority and changefreq; image, video, and news sitemap extensions have separate rules:
Fetches the sitemap from common locations (/sitemap.xml, /sitemap_index.xml, robots.txt reference), validates it, and attempts checks for reachable URLs. The report identifies any partial coverage.
Generate a new sitemap
/seo sitemap generate
Interactive mode. Detects or asks for your business type, loads an industry template, plans the structure with you, applies quality gates, and generates draft XML. The owner must verify canonical and indexability decisions, approve deployment, and confirm discovery or submission.
Large-scale content review
The generation mode flags patterns that deserve human review before publication. It cannot predict or prevent a Google action:
Location pages with only city name swapped
"Best [tool] for [industry]" pages without industry-specific value
"[Competitor] alternative" pages without real comparison data
AI-generated pages without human review and unique value
// FAQ
QUESTIONS ABOUT SITEMAP ANALYSIS
The validator checks valid XML, that each file stays at or below both 50,000 URLs and 50 MB uncompressed, accessible canonical URLs, accurate lastmod values, deprecated tags, robots.txt discovery, no noindex or redirected URLs, and HTTPS. HTTP checks may be partial when authentication, network access, or rate limits intervene.
Yes. Generation mode plans site structure, applies vendor review gates to large location-page sets, and writes draft XML plus STRUCTURE.md. The owner must verify canonical and indexability decisions, approve deployment, and confirm discovery or submission. The review gates are workflow defaults, not Google thresholds.
The planning gates flag repeated templates, weak standalone value, unsupported comparisons, unreliable source data, and large sets without human review. They prompt a decision before URLs enter the sitemap, but they cannot predict indexing, rankings, or a manual action.
Google ignores priority and changefreq. Every URL entry needs loc, while lastmod is optional and useful only when it is accurate and reflects a significant page change. Image, video, and news extensions have separate requirements when those sitemap types are used.
Each sitemap is limited to 50,000 URLs and 50 MB uncompressed, whichever comes first. Analysis flags either limit. Generation splits draft URLs across multiple files and creates a sitemap index, which the owner must review before deployment.
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