Maps offer us various advantages. For instance, a treasure map guides us to riches. Topographical maps are enjoyable to feel. The world map serves as a reminder of the reign of cats.

However, website sitemaps might not spark the same enthusiasm. They can be difficult to grasp and lack the element of fun. Nevertheless, if implemented correctly, they can pave the way for improved search engine rankings and increased website traffic.

This post aims to shed light on sitemaps, their potential necessity for you, and the process of creating and submitting one to Google.

Contents

• What constitutes a sitemap?
• Advantages of sitemaps
• Do you require a sitemap?
• Different categories of sitemaps
• Sitemap creation process

What is a sitemap?

In essence, a sitemap is a file that provides a comprehensive list of URLs for all the crucial pages on your website. Its primary function is to assist search engines in comprehending your site’s structure and effortlessly locating specific pages. Additionally, certain sitemaps aid users in navigating your site, a topic we’ll explore later.

Below is a sample sitemap. Disclaimer: While it might appear daunting initially, rest assured, it won’t seem as intimidating by the end of this post.

Image source To grasp the significance of sitemaps in SEO, it’s essential to understand how search engines operate, particularly the concepts of “crawling” and “indexing.”

• Google employs bots, also known as spiders, that continuously scan the web and create an inventory of web pages—a process called crawling.
• These bots then categorize and store each discovered page in Google’s massive index, known as indexing.
• Consequently, when you perform a Google search, Google doesn’t actually scan the entire web in real time. Instead, it searches its meticulously organized index, enabling it to deliver results in a fraction of a second.

Image source In essence, if your page poses difficulties for crawling, it might not be included in Google’s index, and if it’s not in the index, it cannot appear in Google search results. This is where sitemaps come into play.

Benefits of sitemaps

The easier it is for Google to crawl and understand your site, the more effectively you can achieve higher rankings for your desired keywords and attract more traffic. With that in mind and building upon the information above, let’s delve deeper into the advantages of having a sitemap:

Faster Crawling and Indexing

Google cannot crawl the entire internet daily. Instead, it follows different crawl “schedules” for various websites and content types. Therefore, it can sometimes take days, weeks, or even months for Google to discover new pages on your site. Sitemaps can expedite this discovery and indexing process.

Maintaining Optimal Performance of High-Value Pages

Have you ever updated a page on your site, perhaps to refresh your evergreen content, but noticed that the changes weren’t reflected in search results? This occurs because Google hasn’t crawled the page since your update. With more efficient crawling and indexing, you can ensure that users see the most current version of your most important and/or frequently updated pages.

Assisting Search Bots in Finding Orphan Pages

Google’s bots often find pages on your site much like human visitors do—by following links on the pages they crawl (hence the importance of internal linking). Orphan pages are pages on your site that lack incoming links, making them difficult for Google to access. Including these pages in your sitemap makes it easier for Google to locate and index them.

Image source

Helping Google Identify Duplicate Pages

There are situations where a business website might have identical or nearly identical pages. For example, on an e-commerce site, you might have duplicate product pages with variations in product color. In such cases, Google might struggle to determine the primary version you want to rank. Using a sitemap with canonical tags allows you to specify the main version and identify the duplicates.

Do I need a sitemap?

Generally, Google excels at discovering web pages independently. However, as previously established, a sitemap can enhance SEO, particularly for certain types of websites. According to Google, you would benefit from a sitemap if:

• Your site is extensive (500+ pages). A higher page count increases the likelihood of Google’s crawlers overlooking new or updated content.
• Your internal linking structure is inadequate. This often translates to numerous orphan pages.
• Your site is new or has limited backlinks. Web crawlers discover websites by following links from other sites.
• You have a substantial amount of rich media. This includes images, videos, or news pages that you want to appear in search results.

Types of sitemaps

Sitemaps come in two main types: HTML sitemaps (human-readable) and XML sitemaps (machine-readable).

HTML sitemaps

An HTML sitemap is an actual web page visible to visitors, containing a list of clickable links to all the pages on your site. While this is an older method, it remains valuable, particularly for large websites. Google encourages HTML sitemaps since a hierarchical link structure can improve Google’s understanding of page importance and facilitate appropriate indexing. Here’s an illustration of an HTML sitemap of homedepot.com.

XML sitemaps

An XML sitemap is a text file that provides a list of URLs on your website. While typically accessible via “domainname.com/sitemap.xml,” you can modify this for security reasons. Although visible, they’re not meant for visitor navigation—solely for search engines. Here’s a glimpse of our XML sitemap.

XML sitemaps use tags to convey information about URLs, like the last modification date, and support extensions for details on videos, images, and news articles. Sitemaps.org offers a helpful list of XML tag definitions here.

Other sitemap types

• RSS feeds: News sites or blogs with frequent daily articles can submit RSS, mRSS (media RSS), or Atom 1.0 feeds as their sitemap. However, these only include recent URLs.
• Text sitemaps: The simplest format suitable for small websites with fewer pages.

How to create a sitemap

Creating a sitemap is fairly straightforward with the available tools. The process involves generation, adherence to best practices, and submission to Google.

1. Utilize a sitemap generator

Sitemap generators are plugins or software that offer a code-free way to create sitemaps. Consider these options:

• Yoast: A free WordPress plugin for sitemap generation.
• WordPress 5.5: WordPress 5.5 and later have built-in sitemap functionality, eliminating the need for external plugins. Here’s how to check your WordPress version.
• XML-Sitemaps.com: Offers both free and paid plans. Simply input your site URL and initiate the process.
• Screaming Frog: Creates XML and image XML sitemaps with advanced options like “last modified” tags.
• Slickplan: A paid visual sitemap planner with a free trial, allowing text, XML, or vector sitemap creation.
• Dynomapper: Another paid visual sitemap planner with a free trial.

2. Follow sitemap best practices

Google provides extensive sitemap best practices here, but here are some starting points:

• Divide large sitemaps: For extensive URL lists, create multiple sitemaps and submit a sitemap index file (a sitemap for your sitemaps).

• Include only canonical URLs: For duplicate or near-duplicate pages, list only the preferred URL (canonical version) and use the “rel=canonical” tag for others.

• Use UTF-8 encoding: Sitemaps only accept ASCII characters (numbers, English letters, some special characters). Other characters require escape codes:

  

• Prioritize content through internal linking: Priority tags (0.1 to 1.0) in sitemaps indicate relative page importance, but Google ultimately crawls and indexes based on its own algorithms.

• Exclude NoIndex URLs: Sitemaps are for URLs to be crawled and indexed, not those to be ignored.

3. Submit your sitemap to Google

After generating your sitemap, submit it to Google through one of these methods:

1. Google Search Console: The easiest way. Locate “Sitemaps” in the left panel:

   

   Add your sitemap URL and submit.

2. The ping tool: Submit a request directly in your browser using:

   https://www.google.com/ping?sitemap=https://yourwebsite.com/sitemap

3. Robots.txt file: Include your sitemap link in your robots.txt file.

4. WebSub: WebSub is recommended when using an RSS feed as your sitemap.

Marking the Spot with XML

In conclusion, while Google doesn’t penalize the absence of a sitemap, there are clear advantages if your website requires one. Ideally, this need arises from having a large site with proper internal linking and backlink strategies. Remember, a sitemap isn’t a binding directive for Google but rather a set of recommendations to aid in its crawling and indexing efforts.

Sitemap creation is free and doesn’t demand extensive technical expertise, so start building yours today!