Some Useful Sitemap Generation Tips
Last Edited April 27, 2015 by Super User in Create Sitemaps
Getting ‘organic’ traffic to your website is a very challenging task; which is good and bad at the same time. It is good because it ensures that only the best websites feature on the top of SERPs, ensuring web surfers get access to quality and fresh information. On the other hand, website owners don’t like it because they have to compete with close to a billion other sites with their eyes focused on the medal; high rankings in the search engines. Competition is actually good, because it gives everyone a chance to outsmart the other, including websites. You can really make large strides by simply using a website mapping tool to create sitemaps.
However whatsoever be the case, it is the dream of every website owner to ensure that his or her sites makes it to the top of the search engines. Certain technical aspects should also be taken into consideration which essentially includes XML and HTML Sitemapping. HTML site mapping usually plays double roles; on one hand it allows the crawlers to crawl a website effectively and on the other hand it allows the visitors to have an easy access to your web content. As far as indexing of your pages is concerned, sitemaps allow better management of your web pages for indexing purpose.
You can however only enjoy the above benefits if you create a sitemap that is effective based on the following attributes.
XML Document Must Lie In The Root Directory
Make it a mandatory practice to make an XML document which contains links to all the pages of your website. Special care must be taken when placing the document as it should always lie in the root folder.
Regular Updating
It is to be ensured that the XML file is regularly updated, at least on a monthly basis. Every time you add a new page or remove any, you must update the XML document. If a page is removed and the XML file is not updated the crawlers might get to a dead end resulting in a failed or incomplete crawling, such errors are not good for future crawling. Some website mapping tools can effectively handle this for you.
Maintain A Robots.txt File
The ‘robots.txt’ file is highly recommended because it guides search engines on which pages shouldn’t be crawled. This means that you only let the information you want to be found and block what you don’t want.
Use both HTML and XML Sitemaps
You should ensure that your site has both the XML and the HTML sitemaps for the search engines and the users’ respectively. Creating both is rather easy and straightforward to even novices because you can always use a website mapping tool.
To a large extend, sitemaps are good for SEO too. The more content on your site is indexed, the better your placement in the SERPs. Therefore, have a sitemap on your site, generate fresh content and update your sitemap. With most of your content visible online, you stand a high chance of attracting more traffic and ranking better in your target keywords.
Related Articles
- Sitemap Mapping: The Ultimate Guide to Sitemaps
- Frequently Asked Questions About Sitemaps
- 25 Troubleshooting Tips for Sitemaps
- Sitemaps: How to Manage, Monitor, and Maintain Your Sitemaps
- The Importance of Sitemaps
- What are the Different Sitemap Formats? How and When to Use Them
- Why You Need to Create a Sitemap for Your Website
- XML Sitemaps Vs. HTML Sitemaps
- XML Sitemaps - SEO Best Practices
- Why You Need to Update Your Sitemap Regularly
- The Revolution of Search Engines Crawling and Content Indexing
- Three Steps to Successful Sitemap Submission
- Important SEO Tips for Sitemaps
- Significance of Multiple Sitemaps
- 5 Sitemaps Best Practices For Bing
- Common Sitemaps Errors and How to Fix Them
- 7 Benefits Of Google Sitemaps You Cannot Just Ignore
- HTML Sitemaps - A Table of Contents for Your Website
- XML Sitemaps: An Important Webmasters’ Resource
- How to Get the Best From XML Sitemaps
- Qualities of a Good Sitemap
- A Simple Guide to XML Sitemap Submission
- Building A Powerful Sitemap - What You Need to Know
- HTML Sitemaps For Better Website Navigation
- Tips to Consider When Setting Up a Sitemap
- Google Sitemaps Facts You Must Know
- Sitemaps for Search Engine Optimization
- What is a XML sitemap?
- How to submit sitemaps to Google, Bing, Yahoo, and Ask.com?
- Compare the Top Visual Sitemap Generators
- Sitemap Generator + Google Analytics = A User Experience Architect's Dream
Categories
Create Visual Sitemaps
Create, edit, customize, and share visual sitemaps integrated with Google Analytics for easy discovery, planning, and collaboration.