How to fix sitemap temporary Redirect error using atom feed
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| Sitemap Redirect Error Why Pages Are Not Indexed |
Why is a sitemap in Atom format indexed faster than in XML format and does it solve the temporary redirect error?
Google deals with them in two different ways in terms of priority, not in the crawler itself. Google sees the sitemap.xml file as a comprehensive map of the site, it has to read it all. But it sees the atom.xml file as a Freshness Signal, meaning there is something new right now.
Before fixing the errors below, you must know the root cause. Most fetch failed errors happen because of free domains. I explained the definitive solution why new websites fail to get indexed and how to fix fetch failed error
Reasons for accelerating indexing using the mini Atom format
In Atom, the format <updated>2026-08-29T...Z</updated> is mandatory and standardized according to the Atom 1.0 standard. And it is generated instantly every time Google requests the file, so as soon as Google sees that the date has changed, it knows there is something new and it must crawl immediately.
<url><loc>https://site.com/post1</loc><lastmod>2026-08-28</lastmod><priority>0.8</priority></url>
If you have 50,000 links, it becomes a huge 50 MB file.
The mini Atom that we create has only 5 links, its size is 2 kilobytes, and it is ordered from newest to oldest, so the bot reads the first 20 lines and knows all the new content and leaves, it doesn't need to load the whole file.
Why do articles in the sitemap show a temporary redirect error?
The problem is not in the articles, the problem is in the way the link is written inside the file itself.
In the sitemap.xml file, Google is very strict. Google has a golden rule for the XML Sitemap: This file must contain only the final links that return 200 OK directly.
And this happens a lot because XML Sitemap plugins pull links from the database and from the old cache, so they put the link as it was first registered.
Why does it write it as http in the sitemap in xml format?
Because it remembers your old site address. Imagine when you first created the blog you were on http and after a while you installed a security certificate and became https. The blog from the inside still remembers the old http address and writes it in the sitemap.xml file saved in the cache.
But the atom file is an active and smart file. It is not saved, it is generated instantly. Meaning every time Google requests it, Blogger or WordPress goes to look at your site settings right now and says: ah, the site is now https, so I will write the links as https.
Why the indexing problem does not appear in the sitemap in Atom format
- Atom gets the final link from the start: Atom is not made from a Sitemap plugin, it is made from the blogging system itself get_permalink which gets the final link after all Redirect rules have been applied to it.
- Google deals with it as a Priority Feed: the feed crawler's mission is to discover new content quickly, so it focuses on the latest update.
- Atom has <link rel="self"> and <id>: these two tags confirm the final link, so even if a temporary redirect occurs due to a CDN like Cloudflare, Google ignores it because
- it knows the origin
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| atom vs xml sitemap difference redirect error |
How to solve the temporary redirect error resulting from sitemap.xml format
- The solution is not to cancel the XML and use Atom only. The solution is to fix the XML:
- Open any link that shows the error in the XML and put it on redirect-checker.org you will find it doing 301 or 302.
- Go to your Sitemap plugin (Rank Math / Yoast / SEOPress) and do the following: Enable the option Canonical URLs in Sitemap, Make sure your site link in the general settings is https and www exactly as you want it to appear, Purge the cache and Clear Sitemap Cache, Then Resubmit the sitemap.xml in Search Console, the error will disappear within 2-3 days.
- If you are on Blogger: do not use the sitemap.xml file that you created manually. Use the official Blogger one and it works 100% correctly: https://your-blog-name.blogspot.com/sitemap.xml
The second paper is called atom: it's like you are calling the inspector on the phone and telling him come quickly there is something new I have. The inspector here will not check the address, he will go after the sign to catch the new thing.
How to make a mini file just for new articles?
- Don't make a file with 1000 articles. Make a file with only the last 5 or 10 articles.
- If you are on Blogger (easiest way): Blogger has made it ready for you. This is the mini Atom link for the last 10 articles: https://your-blog-name.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?max-results=10 Submit this link in Search Console as a Sitemap. Every time you publish an article, it will update by itself.
- If you are on WordPress: Install the Rank Math plugin, it automatically makes you a link called: https://your-site.com/feed/atom/
Is there a way to send links of specific articles as a mini sitemap on Blogger in Atom format?
- Blogger's free method max-results=10 Brings only the latest 10 articles, you cannot choose specific old articles. But its disadvantage is that it shows the latest articles, meaning you cannot add a link to an old article or choose links with specific articles.
- Sites like feed-creator and rss.app Let you put 5 links as you like, old and new, and it will give you a ready Atom link. But there is a problem: these links are on their own domain rss.app/feed/... not on your domain, and Google has a rule that the map must be on the same domain as your site, so it often rejects it.
- GitHub: You go to create a free account on Github.com and create a file named atom-new.xml and put the code in it and Publish, you will get a link https://raw.githubusercontent.com/.../atom-new.xml Google accepts it because it is a direct link to an xml file, and this is 100% acceptable
- The Giant Indexer Pro Tool: The tool that makes a mini sitemap with the articles you want in Atom format and is 100% accepted.
Most important features of the Giant Indexer Pro tool:
- Solving the Blogger problem: in the CMS Platform field you choose Blogger / WordPress, and the tool writes the link as https directly without getting it from the old cache. So the http problem that causes a temporary error will not happen.
The most important codes that are generated from the Giant Indexer Pro tool Sitemap only: it does 3 things together:
- Mini-Sitemap, EEAT Schema (a trust certificate for Google), FAQ Schema (to appear in Google in a bigger way), Console Protocol
- Choosing the target search engine, this will make the file acceptable in Google, Bing and Yandex because Atom 1.0 is officially accepted in all three.
- And also made a link injection trick: If you have an indexed article with a lot of visits, you can make a small file with 3 or 4 links with non-indexed articles and add them in the code of the old article. This idea is called Internal Linking Injection and is very powerful. When you put 3 links to non-indexed articles inside a strong old article, Google bot enters the old article every hour, so as soon as it sees the new links inside, it will go crawl and index them 10 times faster than the sitemap.
Quick Comparison: 4 Methods to Fix the Temporary Redirect Error
| Method | Can choose old articles? | Same Domain? | Free Limit | Fixes http -> https redirect? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Blogger Default feeds/posts/default?max-results=10 |
No - Latest 10 only | Yes | 100% Free | Yes - uses https |
| 2. RSS Builder Sites rss.app / feed-creator |
Yes - 5 custom links | No - on rss.app domain Often rejected by GSC |
5 links free | Yes |
| 3. GitHub Raw raw.githubusercontent.com |
Yes - any links you want | No - on github domain May be rejected |
100% Free | Yes |
| 4. Manual Atom Builder e.g. Giant Indexer Pro Tool |
Yes - any old or new links | Yes - code injected in your own article (Internal Linking) | Free | Yes - writes https directly |
* Reader can choose the method that fits him. All methods generate Atom 1.0 accepted by Google, Bing, Yandex.
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| how to fix sitemap temporary redirect error steps |
Are all these methods free?
- The method feeds/posts/default?max-results=10 of Blogger itself, is free for life. The GitHub trick is completely free.
- Sites like rss.app have a free plan that makes you up to 5 links in the mini file.
- Giant Indexer Pro is completely free
Is the atom.xml format not considered a sitemap even if it includes all the blog articles? It is considered a sitemap, and Google officially accepts it.
Google has written that it accepts 3 formats: sitemap.xml and rss / atom.xml and sitemap.txt
What is the difference between a sitemap in xml, atom format
The difference: The sitemap.xml: made specifically to be a map, you can put 50,000 links in it.
The atom.xml: it was originally made as latest news, Blogger outputs it with the last 25 or 500 articles only.
That's why the correct way is: keep sitemap.xml large with all your articles, and keep atom.xml mini with only the last 5 articles for fast indexing.
Importance of the atom format
- Rocket indexing: a 5-link file is crawled every few minutes, not every few days. It solves the redirect problem: you write it as https directly. Light on the bot: 2 kilobytes, it reads it in a second.
- You control it: you are the one who chooses 5 articles. Accepted in all search engines: Google, Bing, Yandex. It helps with link injection: a pincer for the bot from two places. It saves you when your site goes down: if the large map fails, the mini one keeps telling Google that you are publishing new.
What are the reasons that can make a sitemap file fall?
- Http redirect problem
- A broken link 404 inside the file
- File size larger than 50 MB
- Wrong date or in the future
- You forgot to update it for two months
- Block from robots.txt
- The free hosting you uploaded the file on is down
- A wrong character in the code & without encryption
- Map inside map with wrong http paths
- Google itself sometimes has pressure and shows Could not fetch and returns by itself
Summary
That's why: small file 5 links + direct https + manual update = impossible to fall. The bottom line: The best strategy done by professionals - The sitemap.xml is the main one and contains all your site links (for comprehensive indexing). The atom.xml or feed/atom contains only the last 5-10 articles and submit it in Search Console as an additional Sitemap. xml = a list of all your site pages so Google does not forget anything. atom = an alarm bell telling Google there is something new right now, come and get it.