1. Including Non-Canonical URLs
If your sitemap lists duplicate or non-canonical URLs, Google may crawl multiple versions of the same content. This dilutes crawl efficiency and signals inconsistency.
2. Outdated or 404 URLs
Sitemaps should only list live, indexable pages. Old or broken URLs waste crawl cycles and degrade your site’s perceived quality.
3. Overloading with Low-Value Pages
Tag pages, internal search results, or thin content often sneak into large sitemaps. These pages offer little SEO value but consume crawl resources.
4. Too Many Sitemaps or Splits
Large sites sometimes split sitemaps unnecessarily. Excessive segmentation without logic confuses crawlers. Group by meaningful categories (e.g., blog, product, news).
5. Missing Priority Pages
If important pages aren’t listed—or are buried in low-priority sitemaps—Google may miss or delay indexing them.
6. Unoptimized Update Frequency
If you list all URLs as "daily" updated, Google may revisit unchanged pages too often, ignoring fresher pages elsewhere.
What To Do:
Audit your sitemap monthly.
Keep it under 50,000 URLs per file.
Use tools like Screaming Frog, Sitebulb, or Search Console to compare your sitemap with what Google actually indexes.
Prioritize URLs that are valuable, crawlable, and frequently updated.
Conclusion:
Your sitemap should be a clean, focused index of SEO-worthy content. Anything else can burn crawl budget—and cost you rankings.