Summary:
According to recent reports, Google seems to be experiencing a bug related to XML sitemap files that contain hyphens in their file names. It appears that if a sitemap file is named with a hyphen, such as “/sitemap-10.xml,” it may trigger a “couldn’t fetch” error. However, using the same file with a name like “/sitemap10.xml” does not seem to cause any errors.
Key Points:
The bug seems to be specific to XML sitemap files with hyphens in their names.
If a sitemap file is named with a hyphen, it may result in a “couldn’t fetch” error.
Using the same sitemap file with a name that does not contain a hyphen does not trigger any errors.
The issue appears to be related to how Google fetches and processes sitemap files.
It is unclear how widespread this bug is or if it affects all websites using XML sitemaps with hyphens in their file names.
Hot Take:
This bug with XML sitemap files containing hyphens in their names could potentially cause issues for website owners who rely on sitemaps for proper indexing and crawling by search engines. It is important for webmasters to be aware of this bug and consider renaming their sitemap files if they are experiencing any “couldn’t fetch” errors.
Conclusion:
While Google’s bug with XML sitemap files containing hyphens in their names may be causing some inconvenience, it is likely that the issue will be resolved soon. In the meantime, website owners should double-check their sitemap file names and consider removing any hyphens to avoid potential errors. Keeping an eye on Google’s official announcements and updates regarding this bug would also be beneficial.
Original article: https://www.seroundtable.com/google-sitemaps-error-with-hyphenated-file-names-36829.html