<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!--
  post-sitemap.xml — brushworks.com.au
  Optimised: 2026-05-26
  Posts: 28 | All with changefreq + priority added

  ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
  GSC COVERAGE CONTEXT (report date: 2026-05-26)
  ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
  Indexed pages declined: 96 (Mar peak) → 76 (May) = -20 (-21%)
  Stabilising at ~75–76 indexed since mid-May.

  90 pages "Crawled — currently not indexed" (Google systems).
  This directly maps to the content issues identified in this
  sitemap audit. Most likely candidates from this file:

    HIGH RISK — almost certainly in the 90 bucket:
      /painter-hourly-rate-cost/        URL↔content mismatch
      /paint-3-bedroom-house-cost-australia/  near-dup of /cost-to-paint-interior-of-home/
      /cost-to-repaint-roof-tiles/      near-dup of /roof-repainting-cost-australia/
      /painting-cost-calculator-australia/   stale "2025" title
      /exterior-house-painting-prices/       stale "2025" title

    MODERATE RISK — bulk-timestamp cluster (March 7, ~5-min window):
      19 posts modified in one database batch operation.
      Google treats batch lastmod as unreliable; these pages
      receive reduced recrawl priority as a result.

  ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
  PRE-DEPLOYMENT ACTIONS — complete in this order
  ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
  1. STALE YEAR IN TITLES — update to 2026 in Rank Math post editor:
       /painting-cost-calculator-australia/   "2025" → "2026"
       /exterior-house-painting-prices/       "2025" → "2026"
       /painter-hourly-rate-cost/             "2025" → "2026"
     Find all remaining stale titles via WP-CLI or phpMyAdmin:
       SELECT ID, post_title FROM wp_posts
       WHERE post_status = 'publish' AND post_type = 'post'
       AND post_title LIKE '%2025%';

  2. URL / CONTENT MISMATCH — /painter-hourly-rate-cost/:
     The URL slug says "hourly" but the page covers daily rates.
     Choose one fix:
       Option A (preferred): 301-redirect /painter-hourly-rate-cost/
                             → /painter-per-hour-rate/ then delete
                             the post. Remove entry from this file.
       Option B: Change slug → /painter-daily-rate-australia/,
                 rewrite title to "Painter Daily Rate Australia 2026",
                 raise priority to 0.6.

  3. CANONICAL TAGS — confirmed absent on all posts checked.
     Enable: Rank Math → General Settings → Links → Canonical URL.
     Then set manual canonicals on each cannibalization pair below:

     CLUSTER 1 — Painter rates (2 competing pages)
       Primary:   /painter-per-hour-rate/
       Secondary: /painter-hourly-rate-cost/  ← canonical → primary
                                                 (or 301-redirect, see above)

     CLUSTER 2 — House painting cost (4 competing pages)
       Primary:   /cost-to-paint-interior-of-home/
       Secondary: /paint-3-bedroom-house-cost-australia/ ← canonical → primary
       Note:      /cost-to-paint-4-bedroom-house-interior/ has distinct
                  enough intent (4-bed specific) to remain independent.

     CLUSTER 3 — Roof cost (2 competing pages)
       Primary:   /roof-repainting-cost-australia/
       Secondary: /cost-to-repaint-roof-tiles/  ← canonical → primary

  4. BULK LASTMOD — the 19 entries timestamped 2026-03-07T02:3x:xx
     were written in a single batch operation (~5-minute window).
     Google flags these as unreliable. Genuinely update each post's
     content (add new price data, update year references, improve
     FAQs) so WordPress records a real post_modified timestamp.

  5. ORPHAN POSTS — several posts in this sitemap are not listed on
     /articles/. Add internal links from the articles index page
     and from related service pages to pass crawl equity.

  ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
  AFTER DEPLOYMENT
  ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
  Resubmit sitemap_index.xml in GSC → Indexing → Sitemaps.
  Monitor "Crawled — currently not indexed" count weekly; target
  is to reduce from 90 toward under 20 within 60 days of fixes.

  image:image tags are excluded — Rank Math regenerates them
  automatically. Preserve them in the Rank Math-produced version.
-->
<urlset xmlns="http://www.sitemaps.org/schemas/sitemap/0.9"
        xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
        xmlns:image="http://www.google.com/schemas/sitemap-image/1.1"
        xsi:schemaLocation="
          http://www.sitemaps.org/schemas/sitemap/0.9
          http://www.sitemaps.org/schemas/sitemap/0.9/sitemap.xsd
          http://www.google.com/schemas/sitemap-image/1.1
          http://www.google.com/schemas/sitemap-image/1.1/sitemap-image.xsd">

  <!-- ============================================================
       HIGH-INTENT PRICING GUIDES — priority 0.7 / changefreq monthly
       Strong commercial intent; prices change seasonally.
       These are the most valuable posts for driving quote requests.
       GSC impressions (~10,000/day) driven primarily by this group.
       ============================================================ -->

  <url>
    <loc>https://brushworks.com.au/house-painting-cost/</loc>
    <lastmod>2026-04-23T01:33:13+00:00</lastmod>
    <changefreq>monthly</changefreq>
    <priority>0.7</priority>
  </url>

  <!-- Title confirmed "2026" ✓ | High-value calculator tool -->
  <url>
    <loc>https://brushworks.com.au/painting-cost-calculator-australia/</loc>
    <!-- ⚠ ACTION: Update post title from "2025" to "2026" -->
    <lastmod>2026-03-22T07:50:58+00:00</lastmod>
    <changefreq>monthly</changefreq>
    <priority>0.7</priority>
  </url>

  <url>
    <loc>https://brushworks.com.au/commercial-painting-costs/</loc>
    <lastmod>2026-03-11T03:11:55+00:00</lastmod>
    <changefreq>monthly</changefreq>
    <priority>0.7</priority>
  </url>

  <!-- CLUSTER 3 PRIMARY — /cost-to-repaint-roof-tiles/ canonicals here -->
  <url>
    <loc>https://brushworks.com.au/roof-repainting-cost-australia/</loc>
    <lastmod>2026-03-07T02:34:31+00:00</lastmod>
    <changefreq>monthly</changefreq>
    <priority>0.7</priority>
  </url>

  <!-- CLUSTER 2 PRIMARY — /paint-3-bedroom-house-cost-australia/ canonicals here -->
  <url>
    <loc>https://brushworks.com.au/cost-to-paint-interior-of-home/</loc>
    <lastmod>2026-03-07T02:34:18+00:00</lastmod>
    <changefreq>monthly</changefreq>
    <priority>0.7</priority>
  </url>

  <url>
    <loc>https://brushworks.com.au/charge-for-painting-a-room/</loc>
    <lastmod>2026-03-07T02:34:24+00:00</lastmod>
    <changefreq>monthly</changefreq>
    <priority>0.7</priority>
  </url>

  <url>
    <loc>https://brushworks.com.au/epoxy-flooring-cost/</loc>
    <lastmod>2026-03-07T02:32:24+00:00</lastmod>
    <changefreq>monthly</changefreq>
    <priority>0.7</priority>
  </url>

  <url>
    <loc>https://brushworks.com.au/ceiling-painting-cost/</loc>
    <lastmod>2026-03-07T02:32:17+00:00</lastmod>
    <changefreq>monthly</changefreq>
    <priority>0.7</priority>
  </url>

  <url>
    <loc>https://brushworks.com.au/fence-painting-cost/</loc>
    <lastmod>2026-03-07T02:34:10+00:00</lastmod>
    <changefreq>monthly</changefreq>
    <priority>0.7</priority>
  </url>

  <url>
    <loc>https://brushworks.com.au/driveway-painting-cost-australia/</loc>
    <lastmod>2026-03-07T02:37:01+00:00</lastmod>
    <changefreq>monthly</changefreq>
    <priority>0.7</priority>
  </url>

  <!-- CLUSTER 3 SECONDARY — set canonical → /roof-repainting-cost-australia/ -->
  <url>
    <loc>https://brushworks.com.au/cost-to-repaint-roof-tiles/</loc>
    <lastmod>2026-03-22T07:48:58+00:00</lastmod>
    <changefreq>monthly</changefreq>
    <priority>0.6</priority>
  </url>

  <!-- Distinct 4-bed intent — keep independent; canonical to interior-of-home if content overlaps >60% -->
  <url>
    <loc>https://brushworks.com.au/cost-to-paint-4-bedroom-house-interior/</loc>
    <lastmod>2026-03-06T04:55:20+00:00</lastmod>
    <changefreq>monthly</changefreq>
    <priority>0.6</priority>
  </url>

  <!-- CLUSTER 2 SECONDARY — set canonical → /cost-to-paint-interior-of-home/ -->
  <url>
    <loc>https://brushworks.com.au/paint-3-bedroom-house-cost-australia/</loc>
    <lastmod>2026-03-07T02:35:49+00:00</lastmod>
    <changefreq>monthly</changefreq>
    <priority>0.6</priority>
  </url>

  <!-- ⚠ ACTION: Update post title from "2025" to "2026" -->
  <url>
    <loc>https://brushworks.com.au/exterior-house-painting-prices/</loc>
    <lastmod>2026-01-23T22:03:14+00:00</lastmod>
    <changefreq>monthly</changefreq>
    <priority>0.6</priority>
  </url>

  <!-- ============================================================
       MID-INTENT RATE & COMPARISON ARTICLES — priority 0.6
       Informational with strong commercial intent.
       Update pricing data annually; confirm year in title is 2026.
       ============================================================ -->

  <!-- CLUSTER 1 PRIMARY — /painter-hourly-rate-cost/ canonicals here -->
  <url>
    <loc>https://brushworks.com.au/painter-per-hour-rate/</loc>
    <lastmod>2026-03-22T07:51:50+00:00</lastmod>
    <changefreq>monthly</changefreq>
    <priority>0.6</priority>
  </url>

  <url>
    <loc>https://brushworks.com.au/painting-bricks/</loc>
    <lastmod>2026-03-08T00:38:49+00:00</lastmod>
    <changefreq>monthly</changefreq>
    <priority>0.6</priority>
  </url>

  <url>
    <loc>https://brushworks.com.au/best-ceiling-paint/</loc>
    <lastmod>2026-03-22T07:49:05+00:00</lastmod>
    <changefreq>monthly</changefreq>
    <priority>0.6</priority>
  </url>

  <url>
    <loc>https://brushworks.com.au/best-outside-paint-for-concrete/</loc>
    <lastmod>2026-03-06T02:32:44+00:00</lastmod>
    <changefreq>monthly</changefreq>
    <priority>0.6</priority>
  </url>

  <url>
    <loc>https://brushworks.com.au/best-paint-for-brick-exterior/</loc>
    <lastmod>2026-03-07T02:35:03+00:00</lastmod>
    <changefreq>monthly</changefreq>
    <priority>0.6</priority>
  </url>

  <url>
    <loc>https://brushworks.com.au/best-paint-for-bathroom-ceiling/</loc>
    <lastmod>2026-03-07T02:35:11+00:00</lastmod>
    <changefreq>monthly</changefreq>
    <priority>0.6</priority>
  </url>

  <url>
    <loc>https://brushworks.com.au/best-exterior-house-paint-colours/</loc>
    <lastmod>2026-03-07T02:35:19+00:00</lastmod>
    <changefreq>monthly</changefreq>
    <priority>0.6</priority>
  </url>

  <url>
    <loc>https://brushworks.com.au/top-painting-brands-in-australia/</loc>
    <lastmod>2026-03-07T02:36:40+00:00</lastmod>
    <changefreq>monthly</changefreq>
    <priority>0.6</priority>
  </url>

  <url>
    <loc>https://brushworks.com.au/pet-safe-paints/</loc>
    <lastmod>2026-03-07T01:54:20+00:00</lastmod>
    <changefreq>monthly</changefreq>
    <priority>0.6</priority>
  </url>

  <!-- ============================================================
       EVERGREEN INFORMATIONAL — priority 0.5 / changefreq yearly
       How-to content; factually stable, rarely needs updating.
       Lowest GSC impression value in the post catalogue.
       Add internal links from relevant service pages to pass equity.
       ============================================================ -->

  <url>
    <loc>https://brushworks.com.au/is-primer-necessary-for-painting-walls/</loc>
    <lastmod>2026-03-07T02:36:32+00:00</lastmod>
    <changefreq>yearly</changefreq>
    <priority>0.5</priority>
  </url>

  <url>
    <loc>https://brushworks.com.au/do-you-need-to-remove-paint-before-painting/</loc>
    <lastmod>2026-03-07T02:36:19+00:00</lastmod>
    <changefreq>yearly</changefreq>
    <priority>0.5</priority>
  </url>

  <url>
    <loc>https://brushworks.com.au/benefits-eco-friendly-paints-interior/</loc>
    <lastmod>2026-03-07T02:36:09+00:00</lastmod>
    <changefreq>yearly</changefreq>
    <priority>0.5</priority>
  </url>

  <url>
    <loc>https://brushworks.com.au/the-benefits-of-hiring-a-professional-painting-contractor/</loc>
    <lastmod>2026-03-07T02:36:25+00:00</lastmod>
    <changefreq>yearly</changefreq>
    <priority>0.5</priority>
  </url>

  <!-- ============================================================
       NEEDS FIX BEFORE RAISING PRIORITY — priority 0.4
       GSC: almost certainly in the 90 "crawled not indexed" bucket.
       URL slug says "hourly-rate" but content covers daily rates.
       See pre-deployment action item 2 above for fix options.
       ============================================================ -->

  <url>
    <loc>https://brushworks.com.au/painter-hourly-rate-cost/</loc>
    <!-- CLUSTER 1 SECONDARY — canonical must point to /painter-per-hour-rate/ -->
    <!-- ⚠ ACTION: 301-redirect → /painter-per-hour-rate/ and DELETE this entry, -->
    <!--   OR rename slug to /painter-daily-rate-australia/ + update title to 2026 -->
    <lastmod>2026-03-11T03:11:54+00:00</lastmod>
    <changefreq>monthly</changefreq>
    <priority>0.4</priority>
  </url>

</urlset>
