Wordpress Yoast exclude posts from XML sitemap

Question

I'm using Yoast SEO plugin and I'm trying to exclude posts manually from posts XML sitemap using 'wpseo_sitemap_entry' filter but so far have no luck.

This is my current code:

function sitemap_exclude_post( $url, $type, $post) {
    if($post->ID == 6298 ) {
        return false;
    } 

return $url;
}
add_filter( 'wpseo_sitemap_entry', 'sitemap_exclude_post', 1, 3 );

Any suggestions will be much appreciated?

Note: I know it can be done via Yoast plugin's backend by manually entering post IDs but I need to do it via filters. The above code is going to be further changed later to automatically obtain Post IDs of posts(single.php) from a category in wordpress.

Answer 1

I know the question has been answered already but I needed a more dynamical approach of what @clodclod91 explained and since I received the question more than once, I wrote some code about how to do this best in a 'more fluid way' than hardcoding any values.

I hope it helps some people.

I also wrote a post with a bit more explanation. Read it here .

/**
 * Set all excluded items for sitemap in a transient
 *
 * @return mixed
 */
function beee_get_sitemap_excludes_transient() {

    // get transient
    $output = get_transient( 'beee_exclude_sitemap' );

    // if transient returns false, create it
    if ( false == $output ) {

        $exclude_args = array(
            'post_type'      => [ 'page' ], // change this to the post types you want excluded
            'posts_per_page' => -1, // all items of course
            'meta_query'     => array(
                array(
                    'key'     => 'beee_exclude_sitemap',
                    'value'   => '1',
                    'compare' => '=',
                ),
            ),
            'orderby'        => 'ID',  // recommend to set to ID so 'the order is easier to compare later on', otherwise it can create issues
            'order'          => 'ASC', // same, just sort ASC to avoid issues
        );
        $excluded_items = get_posts( $exclude_args );
        if ( count( $excluded_items ) > 0 ) {
            // if there are items and create an empty array
            $exclude = [];
            foreach( $excluded_items as $item ) {
                // add post id to array
                $exclude[] = $item->ID;
            }
            // create a string from an array since Yoast stores a string, not an array
            $output = implode( ',', $exclude );

            // set transient with a 24-hour expiration
            set_transient( 'beee_exclude_sitemap', $output, 24 * HOUR_IN_SECONDS );
        }
    }

    return $output;
}

/**
 * Set Yoast settings from transient
 */
function beee_exclude_pages_sitemap( $post_id ) {

    // get our excluded items from transient
    $our_excluded_posts = beee_get_sitemap_excludes_transient();

    // check if 'exclude' field has been set (in the post)
    if ( 1 == get_field( 'beee_exclude_sitemap', $post_id ) ) {
        // if yes, check if it exists in transient
        if ( in_array( $post_id, explode( ',', $our_excluded_posts ) ) ) {
            // yes, it's already included so we don't have to do anything
        } else {
            // no, it's not included so it needs to be added
            // so we delete the transient (existing values)
            delete_transient( 'beee_exclude_sitemap' );
        }
    } else {
        // it has not been set in the post
        if ( in_array( $post_id, explode( ',', $our_excluded_posts ) ) ) {
            // if does exists in our stored transient, which it shouldn't be in there
            // so we delete the transient (existing values)
            delete_transient( 'beee_exclude_sitemap' );
        }
    }

    // get our excluded ids from transient
    // since we just cleared it, the transient doesn't exist and is retrieved from scratch
    $our_excluded_posts = beee_get_sitemap_excludes_transient();

    // get post ids from Yoast settings
    $wpseo_xml = get_option( 'wpseo_xml' );

    // compare Yoast's value with our items
    if ( $wpseo_xml[ 'excluded-posts' ] == $our_excluded_posts ) {
        // they are the same so we don't need to do anything
    } else {
        // they are not the same so we need to update the database with our new ids
        update_option( 'wpseo_xml', $wpseo_xml );
    }
}
add_action( 'save_post', 'beee_exclude_pages_sitemap' );

Answer 2

Can use update_option function.

$array = array(
  "excluded-posts" => 6298
);

update_option('wpseo_xml', $array);

Should be work also inside add_filter hook. update_option is a wp function that insert or update inside table options. The key inside wp_options table of Yoast SEO for XML Sitemap is wpseo_xml. In the value there is an array with other information:

a:18: {
s: 22: "disable_author_sitemap";
b: 1;
s: 22: "disable_author_noposts";
b: 1;
s: 16: "enablexmlsitemap";
b: 1;
s: 16: "entries-per-page";
i: 1000;
s: 14: "excluded-posts";
s: 7: "1,2,3,4";
s: 38: "user_role-administrator-not_in_sitemap";
b: 0;
s: 31: "user_role-editor-not_in_sitemap";
b: 0;
s: 31: "user_role-author-not_in_sitemap";
b: 0;
s: 36: "user_role-contributor-not_in_sitemap";
b: 0;
s: 35: "user_role-subscriber-not_in_sitemap";
b: 0;
s: 36: "user_role-authors_tes-not_in_sitemap";
b: 0;
s: 40: "user_role-authors_academy-not_in_sitemap";
b: 0;
s: 30: "post_types-post-not_in_sitemap";
b: 0;
s: 30: "post_types-page-not_in_sitemap";
b: 0;
s: 36: "post_types-attachment-not_in_sitemap";
b: 1;
s: 34: "taxonomies-category-not_in_sitemap";
b: 0;
s: 34: "taxonomies-post_tag-not_in_sitemap";
b: 0;
s: 37: "taxonomies-post_format-not_in_sitemap";
b: 0;

}

Answer 3

You can easily do it from Yoast admin interface:

https://kb.yoast.com/kb/sitemap-shows-excluded-posts-pages/

Cheers, Francesco

Answer 4

The above code which I posted in my question works fine.

I just pressed the "save changes" button inside Yoast's dashboard "Exclude Posts" section and it worked. Not sure how, but it's working.