Issue: A sitemap.xml file with formatting errors can’t be read by search engines, which may cause them to ignore it entirely. This means they could miss important pages on your site, impacting your search visibility and indexing.
Fix: Use the Sitemaps report in Google Search Console to identify any issues in your sitemap.xml. Correct all errors, ensuring each tag and URL follows proper syntax. Reference Google’s guidelines for configuring a sitemap if needed.
Tip: A correctly formatted sitemap helps search engines efficiently find and index all your valuable pages.