Troubleshooting for Scheduling and Publishing

Why does Metricool say my RSS feed URL is not valid?

Updated 4 months ago

The RSS feed URL appears as invalid

The “Invalid URL” error when adding an RSS feed to an Autolist happens when Metricool can’t access or read your feed’s XML file—even if the URL works in your browser.

Before you start: Make sure you have the full URL of your RSS feed (it usually ends in /feed or /rss). Learn more in What is an RSS Feed and how does it work in Metricool

Check that the feed is valid XML

The most common issue is that the URL doesn’t return valid XML or returns HTML instead.

How to check:

  1. Paste your URL into https://validator.w3.org/feed/

  2. If it shows errors, the feed doesn’t meet RSS/XML standards

  3. Open the URL directly in your browser—it should display raw XML code, not an HTML page

Example of a valid feed: https://metricool.com/feed/ — Open it in your browser to see the XML structure Metricool expects to receive.

If your browser shows a normal web page (with layout and menus), it’s not a valid RSS feed. Look for another URL or contact your site administrator.

Check for server security blocks

Your server may block Metricool’s access even if you can see the feed in your browser.

Common causes:

  • Cloudflare: Firewall rules blocking bots or automated tools

  • Security plugins: Wordfence, Sucuri, or others restricting access by IP

  • 403 (Forbidden) error: The server rejects requests from external apps

Solutions:

  1. Temporarily disable your firewall or security plugins

  2. If you use Cloudflare, create an exception rule for the feed path (/feed or /rss)

  3. Contact your hosting provider to allow access for external services

  4. Try the main feed URL (example.com/feed) instead of variants

Make sure the feed is public

Metricool needs to access the feed without authentication or restrictions.

Check that:

  • It doesn’t require login or a password

  • It isn’t IP-blocked (some sites limit access by location)

  • The server responds with HTTP 200 (use a tool like httpstatus.io)

Check WordPress settings (if applicable)

If your feed is from WordPress, adjust the syndication settings:

  1. Go to Settings > Reading in your WordPress dashboard

  2. Under “Syndication feeds show the most recent”, select a reasonable number of items (at least 5–10)

  3. Save changes and try connecting again

Still not working

If you’ve checked everything above and the error persists:

  • Try a different feed from the same site (example.com/feed vs example.com/rss)

  • Wait 10–15 minutes after making changes to your server or firewall

  • Contact Metricool support with the exact feed URL

If you just created your blog, make sure you have at least 2–3 posts published before connecting the feed.

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