📘 CASE STUDY: Rank Math Sitemap 404 Issue (Real WordPress Example)

Introduction

This article explains a real Rank Math sitemap issue faced on a WordPress website (bloomings.in) and how it was resolved without guesswork.

Interestingly, another site (bloomingtutorial.com) using the same SEO plugin worked perfectly. This comparison helped identify the true technical cause.

This case study is useful for:

• WordPress users
• SEO professionals
• LMS / course website owners
• Anyone facing sitemap 404 errors

Problem Overview

Both websites used:

• WordPress
• Rank Math SEO
• Similar hosting environment

Yet:

• bloomingtutorial.com → sitemap worked
• bloomings.in → sitemap returned 404 Not Found

This ruled out Google penalties and SEO plugin bugs.

Symptoms Observed on bloomings.in

The following issues were noticed:

• /sitemap_index.xml → 404
• /post-sitemap.xml → 404
• /page-sitemap.xml → 404
• /lesson-sitemap.xml → 404

But surprisingly:

• /course-sitemap.xml → Working
• /product-sitemap.xml → Working

Google Search Console added confusion by showing:

“Sitemap couldn’t be fetched”
while individual sitemaps showed Success.

Key Observation (Turning Point)

Custom post type sitemaps worked, but core WordPress post types failed.

Working:

• Courses (LearnPress)
• Products (WooCommerce)
• Course categories

Not Working:

• Posts
• Pages
• Lessons
• Sitemap index

This distinction revealed the real issue.

Root Cause (Confirmed)

❌ Broken WordPress Core Rewrite Rules

The problem was NOT:

• Rank Math bug
• Google Search Console issue
• Robots.txt blocking
• Redirection conflict

The real cause was:

WordPress permalink and rewrite rules for core post types were broken.

Why Custom Post Types Still Worked

Plugins like:

• LearnPress
• WooCommerce

register their own rewrite rules, so they continued to function even when WordPress core rewrites failed.

The Exact Fix (What Actually Worked)

Step 1: Force Rewrite Rule Regeneration

1. Go to Settings → Permalinks
2. Select Plain → Save
3. Select Post name → Save again

This forces WordPress to rebuild all rewrite rules.

Step 2: Verify Rank Math Sitemap Settings

Ensure these are ON:

• Posts
• Pages
• Lessons
• Include in sitemap

Step 3: Disable Sitemap Cache (Temporary)

• Rank Math → Sitemap Settings
• Disable Cache Sitemaps

This avoids server-level cache conflicts.

Step 4: Confirm Sitemap URLs

After fixing permalinks, these URLs worked:

• /sitemap_index.xml
• /post-sitemap.xml
• /page-sitemap.xml
• /lesson-sitemap.xml

Google Search Console Confusion Explained

Why does GSC still show “Sitemap couldn’t be fetched”?

Because Google:

1. Tried earlier (when sitemap was broken)
2. Cached the error
3. Later fetched sub-sitemaps successfully
4. Has not refreshed the top-level status yet

This is normal behavior.

Do You Need Redirection?

❌ No — and here’s why:

• Sitemap URL never changed
• Sitemap now loads correctly
• Google discourages redirecting sitemap files

Correct action:

• Remove sitemap from GSC
• Add it again once
• Wait 24–72 hours

Noindex vs Sitemap (Important Concept)

• Noindex → controls visibility in search results
• Sitemap → controls discovery

Rank Math does NOT include Noindex pages in sitemaps by default.

Also:

Noindex does not cause sitemap 404 errors.
404 errors are routing problems, not SEO directives.

Final Verdict

Conclusion

This case study proves an important rule:

If custom post type sitemaps work but posts/pages fail, always check WordPress rewrite rules first.

Once permalinks were rebuilt:

• Sitemaps worked
• Google began reading URLs
• Remaining GSC message became temporary cache noise

This was a technical routing issue, not an SEO failure.