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Noindex Pages Listed in Sitemap

Pages with noindex meta tags are incorrectly included in sitemap.xml, sending conflicting signals to search engines.

By Seoxpert Editorial · Published Apr 26, 2026

Why it matters

Including noindex pages in your sitemap tells search engines to crawl and consider them for indexing, while the noindex tag instructs them not to index the page. This contradiction can waste crawl budget and reduce the efficiency of your site's indexing. It may also indicate misconfiguration in your CMS or sitemap generation process.

Impact

Leaving this unresolved wastes crawl budget and may slow down the indexing of important pages.

How it's detected

An automated crawler cross-references sitemap.xml URLs with on-page meta robots tags to identify noindex pages listed in the sitemap.

Common causes

•CMS or plugin auto-generates sitemaps without filtering out noindex pages
•Manual sitemap edits overlook noindex status
•SEO plugins misconfigured to include all pages
•Noindex tags added after sitemap was generated

How to fix it

Review each affected page and decide if it should be indexed. If you want it indexed, remove the noindex meta tag. If not, update your sitemap generator or SEO plugin settings to exclude pages with noindex from sitemap.xml. Regenerate and resubmit your sitemap after making changes.

Code examples

Problem: Sitemap includes a noindex page

<!-- sitemap.xml -->
<url>
  <loc>https://example.com/thank-you</loc>
</url>

Problem: Page has noindex meta tag

<!-- thank-you.html -->
<meta name="robots" content="noindex">

Fix: Remove noindex page from sitemap

<!-- sitemap.xml (after fix) -->
<!-- thank-you page removed -->

FAQ

Why is it a problem to list noindex pages in the sitemap?

It sends conflicting signals to search engines, wasting crawl budget and reducing indexing efficiency.

Should I remove the noindex tag or the sitemap entry?

Decide if you want the page indexed. Remove the noindex tag if yes, or remove it from the sitemap if no.

How do I exclude noindex pages from my sitemap?

Configure your sitemap generator or SEO plugin to filter out pages with a noindex meta tag.

Will Google index a noindex page if it's in the sitemap?

No, Google will honor the noindex tag, but may still crawl the page if it's in the sitemap.

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