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🗺️ Include Custom Post Types in Video and News Sitemaps

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Camilo Aponte

Camilo Aponte

Last updated on Sep 30, 2026

🔍 Overview

If your video-sitemap.xml or news-sitemap.xml is returning an empty URL set despite having published pages, the most common cause is that your custom post types are not enabled in your sitemap configuration. This is a configuration step — not a missing feature or a plugin limitation.

✅ Before You Begin

Confirm the following before adjusting your sitemap settings:

  • You have published pages or posts using a custom post type (for example, a Videos or News post type).
  • You have admin-level access to your WordPress dashboard.
  • MetaSync is installed and active on your site.

🛠️ How to Enable Custom Post Types in Your Sitemaps

Follow these steps to include your custom post types in the video or news sitemap:

  1. Log in to your WordPress dashboard and navigate to Search Atlas in the left-hand menu.
  2. Go to Settings (Sitemap Settings page).
  3. Open the Post Types tab (sometimes labeled Content Types).
  4. Locate your custom post type (e.g. Videos or News) in the list and toggle it on to include it in the sitemap.
  5. Save your changes.
  6. Return to Sitemap Settings and click Regenerate Sitemap (or the equivalent regeneration button in your version) to force MetaSync to rebuild the sitemap index.
  7. Visit your sitemap URL (e.g. yoursite.com/video-sitemap.xml or yoursite.com/news-sitemap.xml) and confirm that URLs are now appearing.

⚠️ Troubleshooting Empty Sitemaps

If the sitemap is still empty after enabling the post type and regenerating, check the following:

  • Post type visibility: The custom post type may not be registered as public in your theme or plugin code. Ask your developer to confirm the post type is registered with public: true.
  • Post status: Only posts with a Published status are included in sitemaps. Confirm your pages are fully published and not saved as drafts.
  • Caching: Some caching plugins may serve an older version of your sitemap. Try clearing your site cache and reloading the sitemap URL.

If you need further assistance, open the chat widget in the bottom-right corner of the platform and type human teammate to be connected with a member of our team.