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Why is my sitemap being indexed?

Discussion in 'Google Sitemaps' started by Riboflavin, Mar 2, 2013.

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  1. #1
    I have submitted my sitemap through webmaster tools ( https://whatimg.com/sitemap.xml - Warning: the -images.xml sitemaps are VERY LARGE I wouldn't click them in your browser ) and Webmaster Tools says the sitemap is fine, and properly reads all the URLs, but instead of indexing my pages Google is indexing my sitemap. You can see my indexed sitemaps here: https://www.google.com/#hl=en&q=site:whatimg.com+xml&oq=site:whatimg.com+xml
    Why would Google index these xml files knowing they are sitemaps? Is there something wrong with my structure? Is there a way I can hide them from the index without stopping them from being crawled - like removing their URLs through webmaster tools or blocking in robots.txt?
    SEMrush
     
    Solved! View solution.
    Riboflavin, Mar 2, 2013 IP
    nvidura likes this.
    SEMrush
  2. Markwebuk

    Markwebuk Well-Known Member

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    #2
    I'd recommend you to check again, use the below to search Google. I can see that nearly 430 pages of your site has been crawled and indexed in Google.
    Please use :- 
    site:https://whatimg.com
    Code (markup):
     
    Markwebuk, Mar 20, 2013 IP
  3. Riboflavin

    Riboflavin Well-Known Member

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    #3
    This has nothing to do with the question I asked.
     
    Riboflavin, Mar 20, 2013 IP
  4. #4
    abraham26, Mar 20, 2013 IP
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  5. Riboflavin

    Riboflavin Well-Known Member

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    #5
    Riboflavin, Mar 20, 2013 IP
  6. Markwebuk

    Markwebuk Well-Known Member

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    #6
    The reason I asked you to check that is because of this statement of yours
    I only wanted to make you aware that it isn't just the sitemap that Google's indexing but your pages as well. And I don't understand, why would you not want to have the sitemap indexed? And if you didn't wanted to be so, why did you build and submit it to Google ?
     
    Markwebuk, Mar 20, 2013 IP
  7. Riboflavin

    Riboflavin Well-Known Member

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    #7
    This thread is 18 days old now, so in that time things have started to be indexed.


    I don't want my sitesmaps indexed because they are really large and provide no real content to anyone besides a robot.
     
    Riboflavin, Mar 20, 2013 IP
  8. JiniOnline

    JiniOnline Member

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    #8
    Download your sitemap and remove all those URL which are not useful for you. Add only those URL for which you want to be crawled.

    If you do not want to be indexed/crawled, you can restrict the bot to crawling it by giving those in robots.txt.
     
    JiniOnline, Mar 21, 2013 IP
  9. Riboflavin

    Riboflavin Well-Known Member

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    #9
    You didn't even read the OP did you?
     
    Riboflavin, Mar 21, 2013 IP
  10. Markwebuk

    Markwebuk Well-Known Member

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    #10
    Well, if you don't want it to be indexed or accessible to the robots, what is the point in having it then, remove it. Blocking it would anyways be as good as not having one.;)
     
    Markwebuk, Mar 23, 2013 IP
  11. Riboflavin

    Riboflavin Well-Known Member

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    #11
    I don't think you understand the purpose of an XML sitemap. It is a sitemap for robots, not humans.
     
    Riboflavin, Mar 23, 2013 IP
  12. Markwebuk

    Markwebuk Well-Known Member

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    #12
    :) Big lol.... If you do understand that the XML sitemap's for robots, and you want to block the robots from accessing it, why do you want to keep it. :cool:
    You don't seem to be clear yourself about what your actual requirements are .....
     
    Markwebuk, Mar 24, 2013 IP
  13. Riboflavin

    Riboflavin Well-Known Member

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    #13
    I don't want to block them from accessing it, I want to block them from INDEXING it. Does that make sense?
     
    Riboflavin, Mar 24, 2013 IP
  14. JiniOnline

    JiniOnline Member

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    #14
    Yes, Now your question is more clear.

    You can add x-robots.tag to 'noindex' in your xml sitemap to block the robot for indexing.
    For more help, see: https://developers.google.com/webmasters/control-crawl-index/docs/robots_meta_tag
     
    JiniOnline, Mar 25, 2013 IP
  15. Riboflavin

    Riboflavin Well-Known Member

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    #15
    Riboflavin, Mar 25, 2013 IP
  16. nvidura

    nvidura Well-Known Member

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    #16
    I figured the problem. You have made a mistake. You have added links to other sitemaps in your main sitemap.xml. This will make Google think other 9 sitemaps are site links. This is not the correct way of doing it. Remove your main sitemap.xml, remove it from Google Webmasters Tools and submit all other 9 sitemaps separately. I had the same issue once, but I fixed it this way. It is not a must to name your sitemap as sitemap.xml. But if you have dynamically generated content, prioritize each link, this is the most difficult part. If you have further questions do let me know.
     
    nvidura, Apr 9, 2013 IP
  17. Riboflavin

    Riboflavin Well-Known Member

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    #17
    No, this is the correct way to create a sitemap index file.
     
    Riboflavin, Apr 9, 2013 IP
  18. nvidura

    nvidura Well-Known Member

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    #18
    No this is NOT the correct way. Why do you say its correct? If so can you point me to a Google guide? Why do Google webmaster tools allow you to submit multiple sitemaps? Why your sitemaps got indexed? Then why none of my site maps got indexed, while your ones are in index? Explanation you select as the best answer is not by Google.
     
    Last edited: Apr 9, 2013
    nvidura, Apr 9, 2013 IP
  19. Riboflavin

    Riboflavin Well-Known Member

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    #19
    http://support.google.com/webmasters/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=71453
     
    Riboflavin, Apr 9, 2013 IP
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  20. nvidura

    nvidura Well-Known Member

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    #20
    Thanks a lot for sharing this piece of information. And asking this question.
     
    nvidura, Apr 9, 2013 IP