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Auctollo XML Sitemap Plugin Setup SOP

Overview​

  • What: Install and configure the XML Sitemap Generator for Google plugin by Auctollo as the canonical sitemap publisher on every SC-managed WP site. SearchAtlas (MetaSync) keeps owning all other SEO surfaces (OTTO content optimization, schema injection, Brand Vault, robots.txt editor) but is bypassed for sitemap generation due to vendor-side reliability issues confirmed in May 2026.
  • When: During client onboarding immediately after seo-one-time-setup.md Component 5 (SearchAtlas project + OTTO + GSC connection). Also run on any existing client whose sitemap shows the MetaSync failure signature (404 + x-metasync-otto-cache: API_ERROR headers on /sitemap.xml / /sitemap_index.xml / /wp-sitemap.xml).
  • Who: Onboarding specialist or SEO technician. Requires WP admin access + GSC access for the client domain.
  • Time Required: 10–15 minutes per client.

Prerequisites​

  • WordPress admin access at <domain>/wp-admin.
  • SearchAtlas plugin already installed + connected (per seo-one-time-setup.md Component 1–2). SearchAtlas stays active; this SOP coexists with it.
  • Google Search Console verified for the client domain.

Procedure​

1. Install the plugin​

WP Admin → Plugins → Add New → search "XML Sitemap Generator for Google" by Auctollo → Install Now → Activate.

Verify the plugin is on v4.1.23 or later (the validated baseline as of 2026-05-24). Older versions may behave differently with MetaSync's URL claims.

2. Configure the plugin​

WP Admin → Settings → XML-Sitemap (added by the plugin).

Confirm these defaults are set:

  • Search Engine Updates → ✓ Use IndexNow Protocol to notify Bing, Yandex, Seznam.cz, Naver. The plugin auto-generates an IndexNow API key on activation.
  • Add sitemap URL to the virtual robots.txt file → ✓ (Plugin warns: "A real robots.txt file must NOT exist in the site directory." See Step 4.)
  • Compress sitemap if client supports it → ✓ (default)
  • Include a XSLT stylesheet → ✓ Use default (Auctollo serves its own stylesheet from /wp-content/plugins/google-sitemap-generator/sitemap.xsl — bypasses MetaSync's .xsl URL hijack)
  • Override base URL of sitemap → leave blank
  • Override file name of sitemap → leave as sitemap (default; publishes at /sitemap.xml)

Scroll down to Sitemap Content section:

  • ✓ Include homepage
  • ✓ Include posts
  • ✓ Include static pages
  • ✓ Include categories (if the client uses categories as a navigation/SEO surface)
  • ✗ Exclude Date archives, Author archives, Tag archives — these are noindexed via SearchAtlas Indexation Control per searchatlas-indexation-control-setup-sop.md, so they shouldn't appear in the sitemap either

Save Changes at the bottom.

3. Delete or fix the physical robots.txt file (silent-failure check)​

WP Admin → WP File Manager → navigate to the web root (where wp-config.php is) → look for a physical robots.txt file.

If present → delete it. Auctollo's "virtual robots.txt" feature will then auto-emit the correct Sitemap: line on every robots.txt request.

(See SearchAtlas Sitemap Troubleshooting SOP → "Silent failure" section for the diagnostic explanation. The physical file may be recreated by GHL hosting or another plugin; if you see it return, re-delete.)

3.5 — Turn off SearchAtlas's XML Sitemap module (critical clarity step)​

This step prevents future confusion. After Auctollo is the working sitemap publisher, SearchAtlas's XML Sitemap module must be explicitly turned off — otherwise the SA admin will continue to display "Generated" / "Auto-Update Enabled" status, leading a future maintainer to believe SA owns the sitemap. They could then try to "fix" SA's sitemap and break the working Auctollo setup.

WP Admin → Search Atlas → XML Sitemap:

  1. Click Delete All Sitemaps (red button at the bottom) — removes any SA-stored sitemap data.
  2. Click Disable Auto-Update — prevents SA from regenerating sitemap data on schedule.

Confirm both: the Auto-Update field at the top of the page should read "Disabled" (not "Enabled"), and Status should read something other than "Generated" (e.g., "Not Generated" or empty).

Do NOT click "Generate Sitemap Now" after this. If accidentally clicked, repeat steps 1–2 above to reset.

This change is local-to-WP only; it does not affect the SearchAtlas dashboard / OTTO project state. OTTO content optimization, schema injection, Brand Vault, and all other SA features continue running normally.

4. Curl verification​

curl -I https://<domain>/sitemap.xml

Pass criteria:

  • HTTP/2 200
  • content-type: text/xml (or application/xml)
  • The response may still carry x-metasync-otto-cache: API_ERROR and x-metasync-otto-method: NONE headers — that's MetaSync's filter still running on the response. This is fine. Auctollo's content is what gets served (HTTP 200, valid XML). The MetaSync headers are cosmetic noise.
curl -s https://<domain>/robots.txt | grep -i sitemap

Pass criteria: Sitemap: https://<domain>/sitemap.xml

5. Notify search engines​

Two paths (do both):

  • In the Auctollo plugin dashboard: click the "your sitemap" or "your main sitemap and all sub-sitemaps" link in the "Search engines haven't been notified yet" banner. Plugin pings Google + IndexNow recipients.
  • In Google Search Console: Sitemaps → Add a new sitemap → enter https://<domain>/sitemap.xml → Submit.

6. Remove old/stale sitemap entries from GSC​

GSC → Sitemaps → for each old entry, click the three-dot menu → Remove sitemap:

  • /wp-sitemap.xml (if previously submitted)
  • /sitemap_index.xml (the old SearchAtlas URL)
  • Any dead staging URLs (e.g., staging<N>.<domain>.com/sitemap_index.xml)

Leaving stale submissions causes GSC to keep re-fetching 404 URLs and reporting errors.

7. Capture state in the canon​

Update the client's profile (or equivalent canonical doc) with:

  • Sitemap plugin: Auctollo XML Sitemap Generator v4.1.23+
  • Canonical sitemap URL: https://<domain>/sitemap.xml
  • Robots.txt source: Auctollo virtual robots.txt (no physical file)

Verification​

  • Auctollo plugin active, v4.1.23+
  • curl -I https://<domain>/sitemap.xml returns HTTP 200 + content-type: text/xml
  • curl -s https://<domain>/robots.txt | grep -i sitemap shows Sitemap: https://<domain>/sitemap.xml
  • No physical robots.txt file in web root (verified via WP File Manager)
  • SearchAtlas XML Sitemap module is disabled — WP Admin → Search Atlas → XML Sitemap shows Auto-Update: Disabled (per Step 3.5)
  • GSC sitemap submission accepted at /sitemap.xml; old entries removed
  • SearchAtlas still active (homepage HTML contains meta name="otto" marker — confirm with curl -s https://<domain>/ | grep -oE 'meta name="otto"|searchatlas')
  • No conflicting SEO suite installed (Yoast, Rank Math, AIOSEO, SEOPress — all prohibited per WP stack standard)

Evidence: Closing comment with (1) curl headers for /sitemap.xml, (2) curl body for /robots.txt, (3) GSC sitemap submission screenshot, (4) homepage curl confirming OTTO markers still present.

Why this SOP exists (background)​

In May 2026, SearchAtlas's MetaSync plugin sitemap module failed across multiple client sites simultaneously (symphonycore.com, mootslaw.com, others suspected). All sitemap URLs returned HTTP 404 with x-metasync-otto-cache: API_ERROR headers. Vendor diagnosis is ongoing. The temporary fix path (delete SA sitemap data → flush permalinks → deactivate-reactivate plugin) restored serving but proved not durable — MetaSync's URL claims periodically re-asserted, requiring repeated manual intervention.

Auctollo's XML Sitemap Generator for Google (4.1.23+) wins the URL routing battle against MetaSync via higher hook priority, serves its XSL stylesheet from its own plugin directory (bypassing MetaSync's .xsl URL hijack), and provides a stable sitemap that's independent of SearchAtlas's vendor reliability. SearchAtlas stays active for every other SEO surface.

This is the canonical sitemap mechanism on the SC WP stack as of 2026-05-24.