How to fix seo variant urls in sitemap on Magento Open Source

Steps for Magento Open Source

1. Go to Admin → Marketing → SEO & Search → Site Map to review your sitemap configurations.
2. Go to Stores → Configuration → Catalog → XML Sitemap. Under 'Product Options', verify that configurable product option URLs are not being included.
3. Set Stores → Configuration → Catalog → Search Engine Optimization → 'Use Canonical Link Meta Tag for Products' to Yes — this ensures all product variant/child URLs declare the parent as canonical.
4. If a third-party sitemap extension is installed, open its admin configuration and disable 'Include product variations' or equivalent setting.
5. Regenerate the sitemap via Marketing → SEO & Search → Site Map, then resubmit in Google Search Console.

<link rel="canonical" href="https://www.yourstore.com/products/blue-t-shirt" />

What is seo variant urls in sitemap?

When shoppers choose a color, size, or other option on a product page, many ecommerce platforms generate a new URL with a query parameter — for example, `/products/blue-t-shirt?variant=12345`. These variant URLs display the same product page with slightly different state; they are not separate, standalone pages. An XML sitemap is a file you submit to Google that lists the pages you want indexed. If variant URLs appear in that sitemap alongside the main product URL, you are effectively telling Google that each variant is its own unique page — which it isn't.

Submitting variant URLs in your sitemap wastes Google's crawl budget — the limited time Googlebot spends on your site — on duplicate or near-duplicate content instead of discovering and re-indexing your real product and category pages. It signals to Google that you may have a thin-content or duplicate-content problem, which can suppress your organic rankings. Google may also split ranking signals (links, engagement data) across the variant URLs instead of concentrating them on the single canonical product URL, weakening your page authority. Cleaning this up focuses all SEO value on one authoritative URL per product and keeps your sitemap lean and trustworthy in Google's eyes.

See the complete Seo variant urls in sitemap guide for every platform and the full background.