The Moz Q&A Forum

    • Forum
    • Questions
    • Users
    • Ask the Community

    Welcome to the Q&A Forum

    Browse the forum for helpful insights and fresh discussions about all things SEO.

    1. SEO and Digital Marketing Forum
    2. Categories
    3. SEO Tactics
    4. Technical SEO
    5. Is it bad to have same page listed twice in sitemap?

    Moz Q&A is closed.

    After more than 13 years, and tens of thousands of questions, Moz Q&A closed on 12th December 2024. Whilst we’re not completely removing the content - many posts will still be possible to view - we have locked both new posts and new replies. More details here.

    Is it bad to have same page listed twice in sitemap?

    Technical SEO
    5 5 5.7k
    • Oldest to Newest
    • Newest to Oldest
    • Most Votes
    Reply
    • Reply as question
    Log in to reply
    This topic has been deleted. Only users with topic management privileges can see it.
    • StickyRiceSEO
      StickyRiceSEO last edited by

      Hello,

      I have found that from an HTML  (not xml) sitemap of a website, a page has been listed twice. Is it okay or will it be considered duplicate content?

      Both the links use same anchor text, but different urls that redirect to another (final) page. I thought ideal way is to use final page in sitemap (and in all internal linking), not the intermediate pages. Am I right?

      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
      • josh-riley
        josh-riley last edited by

        I had it happen in a sitemap I submitted to Google in my Webmaster tools and it didn't like it. So I removed it and resubmitted it.

        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • carbbon
          carbbon last edited by

          I think the other filled in all the details. But simply put:

          XML sitemap? Yes, it will generate an error/warning in the Dashboard console.

          HTML sitemap? No, as long as it is listed for better navigation and not keyword loading.

          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • Nobody1560986989723
            Nobody1560986989723 last edited by

            Firstly, do you mean a HTML sitemap (i.e. a sitemap page on a website) or an XML sitemap (one that is submitted to Google/Bing for indexing)?

            If both links go to the same page, then it's not duplicate content. Duplicate content is the same stuff on different URLs.

            If an internal sitemap has two links redirecting to one end page then this is highly inefficient and the links should point directly to the end page.

            That being the case, then only one link is really needed.

            If... after all that you meant an XML sitemap, then it's not duplicate content to have it listed twice, but it should be only listed once in this case.

            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • NakulGoyal
              NakulGoyal last edited by

              If it's a sitemap for the users and the page appears under 2 different categories, it's okay. Think usability here.

              However, if/when it's the XML sitemap, it should only be there once.

              As for the intermediary pages, If I were you, if they offer a good purpose (the reason you have those pages in the 1st place), they should then be listed in both the XML and HTML sitemaps if they help the users.

              So to answer your question more directly, if your question is:

              Is it bad to have same page listed twice in XML sitemap? Yes, it will generate an error/warning in webmaster console.

              Is it bad to have same page listed twice in HTML sitemap? No, if that's what is needed for users, it's okay.

              I hope that helps.

              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
              • 1 / 1
              • First post
                Last post

              Got a burning SEO question?

              Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.


              Start my free trial


              Explore more categories

              • Moz Tools

                Chat with the community about the Moz tools.

                Getting Started
                Moz Pro
                Moz Local
                Moz Bar
                API
                What's New

              • SEO Tactics

                Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers

                Content Development
                Competitive Research
                Keyword Research
                Link Building
                On-Page Optimization
                Technical SEO
                Reporting & Analytics
                Intermediate & Advanced SEO
                Image & Video Optimization
                International SEO
                Local SEO

              • Community

                Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!

                Moz Blog
                Moz News
                Industry News
                Jobs and Opportunities
                SEO Learn Center
                Whiteboard Friday

              • Digital Marketing

                Chat about tactics outside of SEO

                Affiliate Marketing
                Branding
                Conversion Rate Optimization
                Web Design
                Paid Search Marketing
                Social Media

              • Research & Trends

                Dive into research and trends in the search industry.

                SERP Trends
                Search Behavior
                Algorithm Updates
                White Hat / Black Hat SEO
                Other SEO Tools

              • Support

                Connect on product support and feature requests.

                Product Support
                Feature Requests
                Participate in User Research

              • See all categories

              • Sitemap indexed pages dropping
                zenstorageunits
                zenstorageunits
                0
                9
                5.5k

              Get started with Moz Pro!

              Unlock the power of advanced SEO tools and data-driven insights.

              Start my free trial
              Products
              • Moz Pro
              • Moz Local
              • Moz API
              • Moz Data
              • STAT
              • Product Updates
              Moz Solutions
              • SMB Solutions
              • Agency Solutions
              • Enterprise Solutions
              • Digital Marketers
              Free SEO Tools
              • Domain Authority Checker
              • Link Explorer
              • Keyword Explorer
              • Competitive Research
              • Brand Authority Checker
              • Local Citation Checker
              • MozBar Extension
              • MozCast
              Resources
              • Blog
              • SEO Learning Center
              • Help Hub
              • Beginner's Guide to SEO
              • How-to Guides
              • Moz Academy
              • API Docs
              About Moz
              • About
              • Team
              • Careers
              • Contact
              Why Moz
              • Case Studies
              • Testimonials
              Get Involved
              • Become an Affiliate
              • MozCon
              • Webinars
              • Practical Marketer Series
              • MozPod
              Connect with us

              Contact the Help team

              Join our newsletter
              Moz logo
              © 2021 - 2026 SEOMoz, Inc., a Ziff Davis company. All rights reserved. Moz is a registered trademark of SEOMoz, Inc.
              • Accessibility
              • Terms of Use
              • Privacy

              Looks like your connection to Moz was lost, please wait while we try to reconnect.