SEO For Starters: Sitemap & Its Effects on SEO

In this composition, we will touch the segment called Sitemap, to understand SEO more effectively. Further, we are presenting a brief Sitemap tutorial for SEO starters and how its effects the overall SEO structure. With this tutorial, you will find the answers of all your queries related with Sitemaps. 

What is Sitemap? 

A sitemap is a form of XML file which encloses the list of all website pages that are accessible to the search engine spiders or visitors. In simple words, it informs the search engines about those web pages that are updated or new and available for crawling. 

What is a Sitemap for?

The Sitemap is for letting search engines know about those web pages, that might get missed from indexing process. Alongside, it enables a website owner to specify extra information about each URL, which can be a strong step for SEO structure. The extra information about URLs includes: 

• Updating date and time

• Importance of web page

• Last modification to the page

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All these information in an XML file helps the search engines to have a better understanding about the website and to have an improved crawling mechanism. The Sitemaps are inclusion protocols, whereas robots.txt file is exclusionary protocol. 

How to Generate a Sitemap? 

It is very easy to generate a Sitemap file. The users, who are using WordPress can create Sitemap file simply by downloading the Google XML Sitemaps Plugin. After activating this plugin, the XML Sitemap file will be generated automatically. You can reach out the automated Sitemap file at the URL address: 

http://mydomain.com/sitemap.xml

The another way to generate Sitemap file is by using http://xml-sitemaps.com

On the above link, you can simply follow the steps listed at the top of the page and you can create the sitemap file. Further, you need to download the created file, so that you upload the file at your server. Moreover, there are various Sitemap generator tools available over the internet, providing easy implementation of your XML sitemap file. 

Search Engines & Sitemaps

After uploading the sitemap at your server, you need to submit the sitemap URL at the major search engines. The submission of sitemap URL at the search engines enables them to crawl all web pages with a better understanding on how the website works. 

• To submit the URL with Google, you need to access your Webmaster tools account. 

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• With Bing, you are required to use Windows Live accounts in the Webmaster Centre sections, where you can specify the sitemap. 

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• For Yahoo, you need to sign in to Yahoo and add the sitemap URL in “Submit Site Feed Field” section. 

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Importance of Sitemaps & Its Effects

Sitemap protocol was first introduced by Google in the year 2005 with Yahoo and MSN support. As we all know, the sitemap files inform the search engine crawlers about all web pages to have an easy crawling mechanism. It is very important to have a sitemap for your website, it helps the search engines to navigate your site. Further, the search engines use the sitemap information to index the web pages effectively. The more pages you index, the more you will be successful in building the trustworthy relationship with the search engines. You can compare the sitemap with a blueprint of a building (or your website), which clearly tells about every area and where they are located. 

There are many website owners, who have a basic idea about SEO, but don’t know how to exploit it. These owners can easily look for professional SEO companies over the internet. If you are the one, then you need to explore the internet with a term says Austin SEO Company if you are living in Austin or Boston SEO company if you are looking professional SEO services in Boston. Likewise, you can search for professional SEO companies in any city.