Transform sitemap index files into organized data for SEO audits, website migration planning, and large-scale content monitoring. This robot extracts all nested sitemap URLs from any sitemap index file in seconds with no coding required.
Simply provide the sitemap index URL, and this robot delivers:
✓ Map website architecture across products, languages, and regions.
✓ Identify missing or orphaned sitemaps affecting SEO performance.
✓ Track competitor content organization and expansion strategies.
✓ Scale web scraping workflows with systematic sitemap discovery.
You're trying to scrape a website's sitemap, but instead of finding page URLs, you're seeing links to other XML files. That's because you've found a sitemap index - essentially a table of contents for the website's actual sitemaps.
Think of it like this: Amazon doesn't put millions of product URLs in one file. Instead, they create separate sitemaps for different departments (electronics, books, clothing) and list them all in one master directory - the sitemap index.
You need this robot when:
<sitemapindex> instead of regular URLs.Common examples:
This robot extracts all those sitemap links so you can then scrape the actual page URLs from each one - giving you the complete picture of the website's structure.
To extract sitemap data, you only need to provide:
Sitemap index URL: The direct link to the .xml or .xml.gz file (usually found in robots.txt
No other configuration required. The robot automatically handles compressed files and complex nested structures.
<loc> tagsSEO agencies: Perform comprehensive site audits by mapping complete website architecture. Monitor client and competitor sitemap health for indexation issues.
Migration specialists: Document existing site structure before CMS migrations. Verify sitemap coverage matches content inventory.
Data engineers: Build systematic web scraping pipelines starting from sitemap structure. Create automated monitoring for large-scale data collection.
Competitive intelligence teams: Track when competitors add new product lines or market expansions through sitemap changes.
Connect this robot to:
What file formats does this robot support?
Both standard XML (.xml) and compressed (.xml.gz) sitemap index files. The robot automatically handles decompression.
How do I find a website's sitemap index?
Check the robots.txt file (add /robots.txt to any domain). Large websites typically reference their sitemap index there. Look for entries like "Sitemap: https://example.com/sitemap_index.xml"
What's the difference between this and the URL extractor robot?
This robot extracts sitemap file URLs from a sitemap index (the directory). The URL extractor extracts actual page URLs from individual sitemap files.
Can I monitor multiple websites simultaneously?
Yes. Set up separate monitoring tasks for each sitemap index. Each monitor runs independently on your chosen schedule.
Extract page URLs from sitemap - After extracting sitemap URLs, use this to get all page URLs from each sitemap file. Essential for complete website mapping.
Extract HTML and screenshot - Combine with extracted URLs to capture page content and visual archives at scale.
Extract text from any webpage - Feed URLs from sitemaps into this robot for comprehensive content extraction across entire websites.
