# Indexing Troubleshooting

### No Sitemap Found

This error occurs when no valid sitemap is detected at the expected location. A valid sitemap at your site root is recommended for optimal search performance.

#### **Troubleshooting Steps**

1. **Create a Sitemap**

   If your site doesn't have a sitemap, generate a sitemap in XML format following the [Sitemaps.org protocol](https://www.sitemaps.org/). 
2. **Place the Sitemap at Your Site Root**

   Ensure your sitemap is posted at your site root  (e.g., `https://yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml`)

### Invalid URL

This error occurs when the provided URL is incorrectly formatted, inaccessible, or blocked.

#### **Troubleshooting Steps**

1. **Check the URL Format**

Common issues:

* The URL is missing `https://` or `http://` (e.g., `example.com/page` instead of `https://example.com/page`).
* The URL contains spaces, special characters, or encoding errors.
* The URL is a relative path instead of a full link (e.g., `/page` instead of `https://example.com/page`).

2. **Verify URL Accessibility**

Common issues:

* The URL returns a 404 (Not Found) or 403 (Forbidden) error.
* The page is behind a login screen or restricted to specific users.
* The website is temporarily down 
* The page has a `noindex` meta tag preventing search engines from accessing it.
* The website has firewall or security settings blocking our crawler.


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# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation

If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://docs.direqt-search.com/content-indexing/indexing-troubleshooting.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.