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Sitemap URLs Point to a Different Origin Than the Site

All sitemap URLs point to a different domain than the site, causing indexing issues.

By Seoxpert Editorial · Published

Why it matters

If your sitemap lists URLs on a different domain than your live site, search engines may index the wrong host or ignore your intended domain. This is especially common with sites built on no-code platforms where the sitemap isn't updated after connecting a custom domain.

Impact

Your site may not be indexed correctly, harming visibility and search rankings.

How it's detected

A crawler compares the origin of sitemap URLs to the scanned site's origin and flags mismatches.

Common causes

  • •Sitemap generated before custom domain was set up
  • •No-code platform uses preview domain in sitemap by default
  • •Incorrect 'site URL' or 'base URL' in site settings
  • •Environment variable points to staging or preview domain
  • •Manual sitemap editing with wrong domain

How to fix it

Regenerate your sitemap so all URLs match your live, custom domain. In no-code platforms, update the 'site URL' or 'base URL' in settings to your custom domain, then re-publish. For self-hosted generators, set the correct domain in environment variables (e.g., SITE_URL). After updating, submit the new sitemap in Google Search Console.

Code examples

Incorrect sitemap (wrong origin)

<urlset xmlns="http://www.sitemaps.org/schemas/sitemap/0.9">
  <url>
    <loc>https://filedelivr.com/page1</loc>
  </url>
</urlset>

Correct sitemap (matching origin)

<urlset xmlns="http://www.sitemaps.org/schemas/sitemap/0.9">
  <url>
    <loc>https://www.filedelivr.com/page1</loc>
  </url>
</urlset>

FAQ

Why does my sitemap show the wrong domain?

This usually happens if the sitemap was generated before setting your custom domain, or if the site settings still point to a preview or staging domain.

Will search engines index my site if the sitemap URLs are on a different domain?

Search engines may index the wrong domain or ignore your intended site, harming your SEO.

How do I update the sitemap to use my custom domain?

Update your platform's 'site URL' or 'base URL' setting to your custom domain and regenerate the sitemap.

Do I need to resubmit my sitemap after fixing the domain?

Yes, submit the updated sitemap in Google Search Console to ensure search engines crawl the correct URLs.

Found this issue on your site?

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