Navigating a new city without a map can be difficult, as you’ll miss out on key information needed to find certain areas. An XML sitemap works in a similar way, as it acts as a roadmap that helps search engines navigate through a website to find the important information on each page so that it can rank on the search pages.
XML sitemaps are very important for SEO success, as it can help to boost the visibility of your website which can make it easier for Google to discover what makes it appealing for users. This can increase the chances of your website ranking higher in search engines, as content that is crawlable has everything in the right place.
This guide will help you learn how to create and optimise your sitemap for maximum impact by choosing the right tools and adopting the best practices. Continue reading to find out more.
What is an XML Sitemap?
An XML sitemap lists essential pages, making sure Google can find and crawl them all. It also helps search engines understand your website structure and layout, so the content you want Google to index is represented by an organised list of URLs to streamline the process. How frequently the website is updated and how important it is in relation to other pages are two of the biggest factors in XML sitemap crawling.
XML’s can often be confused with HTML sitemaps, but they are quite different. The former is designed for search engines by offering them a structured layout of the site’s URL to get a better understanding of it. Whereas the latter is more for the benefit of users, as it improves the navigation of a website which can help with user experience.
Why XML Sitemaps are Important
XML sitemaps are crucial, as they can enhance your website’s SEO and make it easier for search engines to find and comprehend it. Some of the main benefits include:
- Helps search engines find important pages and content on a website.
- Helps search engines better understand what’s on a website.
- Helps you inform search engines about any new and updated content.
- Helps you manage your crawl budget.
- Helps improve your search engine results page rankings.
- Helps you provide extra data to search engines.
You want Google to crawl every important page of your website. However, pages can sometimes end up without internal links, making them hard to find. XML sitemaps make it easier to find these pages that don’t have internal links.
Choosing the Right Tools For XML Sitemaps
There are several tools and methods that you can use to help you generate an XML sitemap for your website, including:
- Content Management Systems (CMS): WordPress and other similar CMS platforms come with plugins that you can use to automatically create and calibrate a sitemap.
- Online Sitemap Generators: Quickest and easiest way to create an XML sitemap for smaller websites, but not the most reliable.
- Manual Creation: For more complex websites, it might be the case that a customised XML sitemap is needed to maximise results. An agency that deals with SEO in Manchester can help you with this.
Best Practices for XML Sitemaps
You’ll want to follow the best practices possible when dealing with XML sitemaps, as one slip up could lead to it not working effectively and hindering your site’s crawlability. You should only include pertinent and necessary URLs in the sitemap, as it needs to appropriately capture the premise and aims of your website so that you can be crawled in the way you need to be. Avoid listing any UTRs that are set to no index or lead to error pages, as it can have a negative effect on crawlability.
For the best results, you must keep your sitemap current and error-free. The robots.txt file can be very important when linking to your sitemap, as it can help search engines to be quicker at crawling your website. This enhances your chances of getting your website to rank highly on Google and other search engines.
Sitemap Structure and Format
Your XML sitemap must adhere to a certain format, so certain components are necessary for it to function properly. Make sure that your sitemap included the following:
- <urlset> wraps the entire sitemap together
- <url> defines each page within your sitemap
- <loc> provides the specific URL of the page
- <lastmod> gives the date the page was last updated
- <changefreq> indicates the frequency of page updates
- <priority> signals the page importance compared to other URLs
Upload your sitemap to the root directory of your website after it has been created with all of these elements in place. You can then use search engine Webmaster Tools to submit it to search engines like Google, so they can begin to crawl your website.