Products and taxonomies in the active sitemap provider
Check whether deleted products or no longer existing product categories remain in the relevant SEO sitemap. Classify product variants and main products separately.
The product list in the sitemap usually comes from the WordPress/SEO integration. Check publication, visibility, and selection of product categories separately. A product not visible in the catalogue is not automatically technically unreachable.
Where to check the setting in WooCommerce
In the active WordPress or plugin sitemap provider, check whether products and product categories should be included. Compare the publish status of the product with its listing; catalog visibility and SEO indexing rule can perform different tasks.
Example of this specific finding
Illustrative control case: The sitemap calls /product/expiration model/, this URL provides 404. The product was either deliberately removed or disappeared due to a routing error.
follow-up audit in WooCommerce
Compare an active, a removed and a deliberately excluded product after a regular sitemap rebuild. Also retrieve the actually generated product part sitemap.
Upon final removal, take the record from the sitemap selection. In the event of unintentional unreachability, restore the URL or set a suitable final destination.
Derogations and scope
A deleted page may correctly deliver 404. The contradictory inclusion in the sitemap is the part to be checked here.
Regarding: WooCommerce on WordPress. Block and classic product templates as well as SEO extensions can have different output locations.
Classify the general error
Definition, system-independent causes and further correction examples: Differentiate deleted and accidentally missing pages