How to Fix the “Couldn’t Fetch” Error in Google Search Console

The “Couldn’t Fetch” error in Google Search Console is certainly one of the many unclear and frustrating status messages you might find. It may appear for a variety of reasons, while this status message does clearly tell you that Google hasn’t pulled your sitemap yet, it could be pointing to an error that’s preventing Google from accessing your sitemap. Since it is a bit of a challenge to the individual or SEO services team to make the differentiation between the two causes, troubleshooting the issue must be done properly for it to not be a problem in your sitemap.

Walk you through some guide on finding and fixing the possible causes that may trigger the “Couldn’t Fetch” in Google Search Console error.

1. Rename the Sitemap File

According to Google’s John Mueller, if you have a valid sitemap but still see error messages, then probably renaming the sitemap file would help.

How to rename a sitemap file in Google Search Console

• Go to Indexing → Sitemaps.
• Paste your sitemap URL under Add a new sitemap, for example:

https://yourdomain.com/?sitemap=1

• Then click SUBMIT.

This simple change may have fixed the issue if the issue was that of Google not reading or processing the sitemap file accordingly.

2. Troubleshoot Your Sitemap

If renaming your sitemap file did not help then check if your sitemap is implemented correctly. Here are a few steps you can go through and spot fix sitemap setup problems.

2.1 Test Your Sitemap

First, check if your sitemap is correctly formatted and in place. You can use an online validator tool such as the Validate XML Sitemap tool to validate your sitemap for errors. You only need to input the URL of your sitemap and click on VALIDATE.

If your sitemap is correctly in place, you will then see a message saying No issues detected.

2.2 Check if the Sitemap is in the Root Directory

For your sitemap to function properly, place it within the root folder of your site. If using a hand-generated sitemap, be sure to use the following format:

https://yourdomain.com/sitemap_index.xml

If your sitemap is in the incorrect directory, Google won’t be able to access it, causing a “Couldn’t Fetch” error.

2.3 Ensure Posts Have Indexing On

If you have set all your posts to no index, your sitemap will be empty and an error can occur due to it. To check and repair this:

• Rank Math SEO → Titles & Meta.
• Click the toggle next to Index in the Robots Meta settings so it displays as On.
• Save Changes

2.4 Clear the Sitemap Cache

If your sitemap looks older than it should, clearing it may help solve the problem. How to do it:

• Proceed to Rank Math SEO → Sitemap Settings.
• Increase the value of Links Per Sitemap by one
• Click Save Changes
• Then go to Settings → Permalinks and click Save Changes to make all the settings correctly apply.

2.5 Exclude the Sitemap from Caching

Ensure your sitemap is not cached because this may hinder Google from being able to retrieve it. Check your site’s caching settings or find a plugin that allows you to exclude your sitemap from being cached.

3. Submit the correct version of your sitemap

In case the above cannot work, then the problem might be on the correct version of your URL that you want in Google Search Console.

Step 3.1 Confirm the Correct URL Type

There are four versions of URLs for your site:

http://yourdomain.com
http://www.yourdomain.com
https://www.yourdomain.com
https://www.yourdomain.com

Confirm that you added the correct version in Google Search Console by going to the WordPress dashboard by clicking on Settings → General. In the Site Address (URL) field, you should see the correct type of URL for your site.

Step 3.2 Enter the Correct Type of URL in Google Search Console

If you haven’t done so yet, add the correct URL version to Google Search Console as a URL property. You can check out Google’s instructions on how to add and verify a URL property in Search Console if you need to .

3.3 Submit Your Sitemap to Google Search Console

After adding the right URL property, go to the Google Search Console to Indexing → Sitemaps. Paste the correct sitemap URL in the field Add a new sitemap and click on SUBMIT.

Important: Your sitemap URL must not contain any space as that too triggers the “Couldn’t Fetch” error.

If the issue remains, then append a forward slash / at the end of your URL for sitemap and resubmit.

4. Wait for Google Fetch the Sitemap

If you have followed all the steps above and nothing has worked, there could be an issue where Google hasn’t fetched your sitemap. Sometimes you need to just sit back and let it wait till Google gets it. Never forget that, even without a sitemap, Google can detect and index your content, but it is very much recommended to have a working sitemap in order to maintain the best level of SEO performance.

Conclusion

Couldn’t Fetch” is just one of those ridiculous errors in Google Search Console, and I was baffled by that. The following section allows you to troubleshoot the issue up until you find what is wrong and fix it. It may be changing the naming of the sitemap file or something else like config issues. Anyway, Google will start using the correct version of the site.If the problems persist even after using these remedies, do not hesitate to contact the SEO agency Singapore support team or seek second opinions from the SEO services professionals.