How to Check the Difference Between Sitemap and Indexed Pages
To see the difference between your sitemap URLs and indexed pages, compare the total number of sitemap URLs submitted to Google Search Console with the number of indexed pages under the ‘Coverage’ report. For more accuracy, you can use SEO tools like Screaming Frog or Sitebulb combined with Google’s ‘site:’ operator search.
Traffic dropped? Find the 'why' in 5 minutes, not 5 hours.
Spotrise is your AI analyst that monitors all your sites 24/7. It instantly finds anomalies, explains their causes, and provides a ready-to-use action plan. Stop losing money while you're searching for the problem.
Key Takaways
Frequently Asked Questions
Why are some sitemap pages not indexed?
Check at least monthly or after publishing new content or making major site changes. Early detection prevents visibility loss.
How often should I check sitemap vs indexed pages?
Check at least monthly or after publishing new content or making major site changes. Early detection prevents visibility loss.
Can all sitemap pages be indexed?
Not always. Google chooses what to index. Submitting a page doesn’t guarantee inclusion in the index.
How do I find excluded pages?
In Google Search Console, check the ‘Pages’ tab under ‘Indexing.’ Look under ‘Not Indexed’ and explore individual issues.
What tools help automate this process?
Screaming Frog, Sitebulb, Ahrefs, and SEMrush can compare sitemap and index data, flagging anomalies at scale.
Step by Step Plan
Access Google Search Console
Login to your property in Google Search Console and go to the ‘Sitemaps’ section to view submitted URLs.
Check Submitted vs Indexed URLs
Under ‘Sitemaps,’ check how many URLs were submitted and how many are indexed—Google shows this per sitemap file.
Use the Coverage Report
Go to the ‘Pages’ or 'Coverage' section in GSC to view total indexed vs excluded pages and their reasons.
Use the Coverage Report
Use tools like Screaming Frog or Sitebulb to crawl your site and export a list of live sitemap URLs.
Use the ‘site:’ Search Operator
In Google search, type ‘site:yourdomain.com’ to estimate how many pages are indexed—as a rough measure.
Comparison Table
Tired of the routine for 50+ clients?
Your new AI assistant will handle monitoring, audits, and reports. Free up your team for strategy, not for manually digging through GA4 and GSC. Let us show you how to give your specialists 10+ hours back every week.
