XML Sitemaps - How SEOvault AI Uses WordPress Core Sitemaps

SEOvault AI ships with its own XML sitemap implementation. When the sitemap feature is enabled, the plugin takes over from the default WordPress core sitemap, disables the built-in wp-sitemap.xml output, and serves a cached, noindex-aware sitemap from /seovault-sitemap.xml. If anyone requests the old WordPress sitemap URL, they are redirected to the SEOvault AI sitemap with a 301.

Where to find the sitemap settings

Go to SEOvault AI > General > Sitemap in your WordPress admin. The top of the tab shows the sitemap status, the live sitemap URL, and the last generated timestamp. There is also a Purge Sitemap Cache button to force a full rebuild.

Alternatively, the sitemap has its own standalone page at SEOvault AI > Sitemap if your menu is configured to show it.

How it works

The SEOvault AI sitemap is a custom rewrite-based solution, not a wrapper around the WordPress core sitemap. It registers its own rewrite rules for /seovault-sitemap.xml and the sub-sitemap files, generates XML from its own queries, and stores the result in a file cache under your uploads directory.

The main index lives at:

https://yourdomain.com/seovault-sitemap.xml

Sub-sitemaps are split by content type and paginated automatically. For example:

https://yourdomain.com/seovault-sitemap-post-page-1.xml
https://yourdomain.com/seovault-sitemap-page-page-1.xml
https://yourdomain.com/seovault-sitemap-taxonomy-category-page-1.xml

Each sub-sitemap is capped at the number of URLs you choose in the Entries per Page setting. The default is 1000 URLs per file, which keeps files small and easy for search engines to fetch.

What the sitemap includes

By default, the sitemap index includes sub-sitemaps for the public post types and taxonomies you select. You can also enable optional sitemaps for users and images.

Post types – public post types such as Posts and Pages. Attachments are always excluded.
Taxonomies – public taxonomies such as Categories and Tags.
Users – author archive pages for users who have published content. Disabled by default.
Images – <image:image> tags inside post sitemaps when enabled. Disabled by default.
News – Google News-compatible tags for posts. Disabled by default.
Archives – post-type archive landing pages when the post type has a public archive.
Front page – the homepage is included on the first page of the Posts sitemap.

Noindex-aware exclusion

The sitemap respects the robots directives you set in SEOvault AI. Any post or term marked as noindex is excluded automatically.

A post with the Noindex checkbox checked in the SEOvault AI meta box is not added to the sitemap.
A category or tag with the Noindex checkbox checked in the term meta box is not added to the sitemap.
Post types you set to noindex globally under SEOvault AI > General > Robots are excluded from the sitemap query.
Password-protected posts are always excluded.

This happens at query time, so the cached sitemap files only contain URLs you actually want search engines to crawl.

Step-by-step: configure your sitemap

Go to SEOvault AI > General > Sitemap.
Check Enable Sitemap to turn on the custom sitemap.
Under Post Types, select the public post types you want included. Posts and Pages are typically selected by default.
Under Taxonomies, select the taxonomies you want included. Categories and Tags are typically selected by default.
Optionally enable Users to include author archive pages.
Optionally enable Images to include image tags in post sitemaps.
Optionally enable News if you publish news content and want Google News-compatible tags on posts.
Set Entries per Page to a value between 100 and 50,000. The default is 1000.
Choose a Cron Frequency for automatic rebuilds: Hourly, Twice Daily, Daily, or Every 6 Hours. The default is Every 6 Hours.
Click Save Changes.
Click the sitemap URL at the top of the tab to view the live sitemap in a new tab.

Sitemap caching and rebuilding

SEOvault AI caches sitemap files in your uploads directory to avoid rebuilding XML on every request. The cache is stored under wp-content/uploads/seovault-seo/cache/sitemap/. The directory is protected with index.php and .htaccess rules so the raw files cannot be browsed directly.

The cache is rebuilt in the background:

On a cron schedule based on your Cron Frequency setting
When you publish, update, or delete a post or term
When you add or remove a user
When you save sitemap settings or click Purge Sitemap Cache

Rebuilds are atomic. The plugin builds the new files in a separate directory and swaps them only when complete, so visitors and search engines never see a partially built sitemap.

Options reference

Setting	What it does	Default
Enable Sitemap	Turns the SEOvault AI custom sitemap on or off	On after setup
Post Types	Public post types to include in the sitemap	Posts, Pages
Taxonomies	Public taxonomies to include	Categories, Tags
Users	Include author archive sitemap	Off
Images	Include `<image:image>` tags in post sitemaps	Off
News	Enable news sitemap tags for posts	Off
Entries per Page	Maximum URLs per sub-sitemap file	1000
Cron Frequency	How often the full sitemap is rebuilt	Every 6 Hours

Submitting your sitemap to search engines

Once the sitemap is enabled, submit the main index URL to search engines:

Google Search Console: Add https://yourdomain.com/seovault-sitemap.xml as a sitemap in the Sitemaps report.
Bing Webmaster Tools: Submit the same URL in the Sitemaps section.
Other engines: Most crawlers that support XML sitemaps accept the index URL and follow the listed sub-sitemaps.

You do not need to submit each sub-sitemap file individually. Search engines read the index and discover the rest.

Notes and edge cases

Core WordPress sitemap is disabled: When the SEOvault AI sitemap is enabled, the wp_sitemaps_enabled filter returns false. Requests to /wp-sitemap.xml are 301-redirected to /seovault-sitemap.xml.
Pretty permalinks required: The sitemap uses custom rewrite rules. If you see a 404, go to Settings > Permalinks and click Save Changes to flush rewrite rules. SEOvault AI also tries to self-heal rewrite rules on activation and when you save sitemap settings.
Manual output mode: In Manual output mode, the plugin does not auto-generate sitemap values. The sitemap feature still works, but it only includes URLs you have explicitly allowed through the settings.
Disabled output mode: In Disabled output mode, the entire plugin is paused, including the sitemap. No sitemap tags are output and no sitemap rewrite rules are registered.
Large sites: If you have tens of thousands of posts, the sitemap is split into multiple files automatically. Keep the default 1000 entries per page unless you specifically need larger files.
Robots.txt: If you want search engines to find your sitemap automatically, you can add a Sitemap: https://yourdomain.com/seovault-sitemap.xml line to your robots.txt using the robots controls under SEOvault AI > General > Robots.
Cache protection: Do not delete the seovault-seo folder inside your uploads directory unless you want to force a rebuild. The plugin recreates it as needed.