A

Discovery

LOW

Every sitemap <loc> URL is under 2048 characters

Every <loc> URL across all resolved sitemap documents is shorter than 2,048 characters. Strict crawlers drop over-cap URLs without surfacing the error, so over-cap product entries effectively vanish.

What this check looks for

sitemaps.org caps each individual URL at 2,048 characters. We scan every parsed `<loc>` entry across all resolved sitemap documents and report any over the cap. Over-cap URLs are typically the result of uncapped query-string parameters appended for analytics tracking — strip those parameters when emitting the sitemap.

Which AI surfaces it affects

  • Google AI Mode (UCP)60
  • Microsoft Copilot50
  • ChatGPT (ACP)30
  • Perplexity30
  • Meta AI30

Weighted against the live specs — ACP 2026-04-17, UCP 2026-04-08.

How to fix it

Keep every <loc> URL under 2,048 characters

Shopify

Developer
  1. Shopify product URLs are short by default; over-cap entries usually come from custom apps appending tracking parameters to the sitemap. Identify the app and disable the parameter injection.

BigCommerce

Developer
  1. BigCommerce product URLs are short by default. If failing, the over-cap entries likely come from a custom integration; review your storefront SEO config.

WooCommerce

A few minutes
  1. Configure your SEO plugin (Yoast / Rank Math) to exclude long-query-string variants from the sitemap.

Custom / headless

Developer
  1. When you generate the sitemap, strip tracking query params (`utm_*`, `gclid`, custom analytics) from URLs.
function canonicalize(url) {
  const u = new URL(url);
  const drop = ['utm_source','utm_medium','utm_campaign','utm_term','utm_content','gclid','fbclid'];
  drop.forEach(p => u.searchParams.delete(p));
  return u.href;
}

The spec it's pinned to

  • sitemaps.org — URL length cap

    The sitemaps.org protocol caps each URL at 2,048 characters. URLs longer than that are silently dropped or truncated by validating crawlers.

sitemaps.org protocol

Does your store pass this check?

Run the full audit — 82 checks across five AI shopping surfaces. Most tools only check whether you get mentioned; we check whether an agent can buy from you.

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