Lifecycle dead urls in sitemap

Quick win

Some URLs in the XML sitemap return 404.

What it is

A dead sitemap URL points to a page that no longer exists.

Why it matters

Dead sitemap URLs waste Google's crawl budget and signal poor site maintenance.

How to fix it

  1. Remove the 404 URLs from the sitemap (listed in the finding detail).
  2. If a removed product should still exist, restore it or 301-redirect the URL.
  3. Resubmit the corrected sitemap in Search Console.

Does your site have this issue?

Run a free SEOLZ audit to find lifecycle dead urls in sitemap — and every other issue — across your whole site in minutes.

Scan my site free

Frequently asked questions

What is Lifecycle dead urls in sitemap?

A dead sitemap URL points to a page that no longer exists.

Why does lifecycle dead urls in sitemap matter?

Dead sitemap URLs waste Google's crawl budget and signal poor site maintenance.

How do I fix lifecycle dead urls in sitemap?

Some URLs in the XML sitemap return 404.

Related Site Lifecycle issues