Troubleshooting Google Search Console: “Sitemap Could Not Be Read” Error
As webmasters, we often rely on tools like Google Search Console to help us optimize our websites for search engines. However, encountering issues such as the “Sitemap could not be read” error can be incredibly frustrating—especially when it disrupts our workflow. Since 2023, I’ve been grappling with this particular issue.
In the course of developing my site, I discovered that Google Search Console has consistently failed to read my submitted sitemaps. This has forced me to manually submit each individual URL, which not only consumes time but also hinders the efficiency of my SEO strategy. Despite creating multiple sitemaps through different generators and attempting to place the sitemap link in various locations on my site, the issue persists.
I’ve reported the problem to Google multiple times but have yet to see any resolution. Interestingly, Bing Webmaster Tools seems to have no trouble reading the same sitemaps that Google keeps rejecting, which points to a potential issue specifically with Google’s platform.
If anyone else is facing a similar challenge, I would love to hear about your experiences. Have you found a solution to this problem? Any insights or tips would be greatly appreciated!