Why Blogger Users need this
You published a post two weeks ago, searched for its exact title, and Google shows nothing. Before you touch Crawlers and indexing, it helps to know what a crawler actually finds. Blogger builds your sitemap by itself, so the file is often fine, but a custom robots.txt that replaced the default one, a noindex header tag switched on for archive and search pages, or a hide-by-tag choice that quietly pulls every post carrying those tags can all make a healthy-looking blog behave as if it were invisible. Owners who moved to a custom domain have also reported new posts going uncrawled for stretches, and the only clues are in Search Console. The Sitemap Finder & Validator gives you a concrete first fact: paste your blogspot address or custom domain and see which sitemap addresses answer, whether robots.txt declares one, whether the file is a URL Set or a Sitemap Index, and how many loc entries it holds. Compare that count with the number of posts you have published. A match does not prove indexing, but a mismatch tells you where to dig next, and the check costs nothing.
Blogger Users specific guidance
What to run first
Start with the address and the post count. Open Blogger, go to Posts and note how many published posts you have. Then enter your blog exactly as visitors reach it, such as myblog.blogspot.com or www.example.com; a post URL like www.example.com/2026/10/my-post.html also works. Blogger does not support naked domains for custom domains, so use the www form. Read three cards first: Sitemaps, Total loc (the number of URL entries found) and In robots.txt. A sitemap found, a count near your post total and a Yes under In robots.txt means the file side is in order. None of that proves Google has indexed anything; it only shows what a crawler can fetch from your blog today.
How to read the table
Compare the table with your dashboard. Each row names a sitemap, its Type (URL Set or Sitemap Index) and its loc count, followed by the first 20 URLs of the first sitemap. If your 48 posts show 48 entries, the sitemap looks complete. Bigger blogs get a Sitemap Index instead, whose children are /sitemap.xml?page=1, ?page=2 and so on; none has news in the address, so the tool does not open them and Total loc counts only those page files. Static pages live in a separate /sitemap-pages.xml that the tool does not request, so they are never in the total. A No under In robots.txt points at a custom robots.txt that dropped the Sitemap: line. The result does not say whether robots rules block your posts, because the tool reads the declaration rather than testing Disallow lines.
What to fix and in which order
Work through the settings in a sensible order. In Blogger open Settings, then Crawlers and indexing. First look at Enable custom robots.txt: if it is on, compare its content with the default, or switch it off and see whether the problem changes. Second, check Enable custom robots header tags and read the values for home page, archive and search pages, and posts and pages; posts should not carry noindex. Avoid hiding by tag. Third, once the sitemap is confirmed, submit it in Search Console and inspect one unindexed post URL. Even a clean result here guarantees nothing, since Google decides indexing URL by URL.
Example scenarios
1. Sitemap complete, posts still missing
- Situation
- Illustrative example: a food blog on myrecipes.blogspot.com has 48 published posts, and 9 of them never appear in search a month after publishing.
- Input
- myrecipes.blogspot.com
- Reading the result
- The output would typically show one sitemap of Type URL Set, Total loc of 48 and In robots.txt Yes. The file side is healthy, so the cause is elsewhere: check the custom robots header tags for noindex on posts and pages, then inspect one missing post in Search Console.
2. Custom robots.txt dropped the sitemap line
- Situation
- Illustrative example: an owner pasted a shorter custom robots.txt copied from a forum thread into Settings, Crawlers and indexing, and has 120 posts on www.travelnotes.example.
- Input
- www.travelnotes.example
- Reading the result
- You would typically see a sitemap found at /sitemap.xml with about 120 loc entries, but In robots.txt shows No. The sitemap works; the declaration was lost. Add a Sitemap: line with the full address to the custom file, then rerun the check and test the Disallow rules with a robots tester.
3. Index file hides the real count
- Situation
- Illustrative example: a long-running blog with 600 posts, now on a custom domain, shows a small Total loc next to the post count in the dashboard.
- Input
- www.oldjournal.example/2024/05/first-post.html
- Reading the result
- The table would likely show Sitemaps 1, Type Sitemap Index and Total loc 2, because the index only names /sitemap.xml?page=1 and ?page=2. Those children are not opened, so the 2 is a count of page files, not proof posts are missing. Open each child address by hand and count its entries.
Common mistakes
- Hiding posts by tag. Using the hide-by-tag option under custom robots header tags can remove every post that carries those tags from search. Use noindex only on archive and search pages, and re-check a post afterward.
- Pasting a robots.txt without a Sitemap line. A custom robots.txt replaces Blogger's default file completely, so anything you leave out is gone. Keep a Sitemap: line with your full address.
- Entering the naked domain. Blogger custom domains run on a subdomain such as www, so if the redirect from example.com to www is switched off, checking example.com finds nothing. Test the address visitors actually reach.
- Reading the count as indexed pages. Total loc is the number of URLs listed, not the number Google has stored. Indexed counts live in Search Console.
- Changing three settings at once. Switching off custom robots.txt, editing header tags and moving domains together makes it impossible to tell what helped. Change one thing, rerun the check, then move on.
Frequently asked questions
Why are my Blogger posts not indexed even though I have a sitemap?
A sitemap only tells Google that a URL exists; it does not force indexing. Blogger creates the sitemap automatically, so first confirm it lists your posts, then look at what could block them: a custom robots.txt, a noindex custom robots header tag, or hide-by-tag selections. Run the finder, compare the URL count with your published posts, and then check Settings, Crawlers and indexing. If everything is clean, Search Console's URL Inspection shows Google's own decision for each post.
Where do I find my Blogger sitemap?
Blogger serves it at /sitemap.xml on your address, for example myblog.blogspot.com/sitemap.xml. The finder also tries /sitemap_index.xml, /sitemap-index.xml and a few other standard paths, and reads any Sitemap: line in robots.txt. Enter your blogspot or custom domain and the Sitemaps card shows what answered. If nothing is found, check that you typed the address exactly as visitors reach it, including www for a custom domain, before suspecting the blog.
Does a custom robots.txt in Blogger remove my sitemap?
Custom robots.txt content replaces Blogger's default file, so a pasted version without a Sitemap: line leaves the In robots.txt card on No. The sitemap file itself may still load at /sitemap.xml. The fix is to add a Sitemap: line with your full address, or turn the custom robots.txt off under Settings, Crawlers and indexing. Then rerun the check. Test any Disallow rules separately, because this finder does not evaluate them.
Should I noindex label pages on Blogger?
That is a judgment about duplication, not something a sitemap check decides. Under Settings, Crawlers and indexing, Enable custom robots header tags lets you set noindex for archive and search pages, which covers label listings. Avoid hiding by tag, which can remove every post carrying the tags you choose. After saving, open one post and one label page and inspect their robots meta tags before trusting the change.
Do I need a new sitemap after moving Blogger to a custom domain?
Blogger keeps generating the sitemap automatically, but Search Console treats the custom domain as its own property, so add it there and submit the sitemap address again. First run the finder on the www form of the new domain and confirm the sitemap answers, lists your posts and is declared in robots.txt. The finder does not test redirects from the old blogspot address and does not submit anything for you.
Reference: Blogger's own guide, Help people find your blog on search engines, explains how custom robots header tags work and warns that hiding by tag can hide every post and page carrying the tags you select.