Sitemaps have been a crucial part of web development since their inception, yet many rookie SEO professionals may not fully understand their value.
So what exactly is a sitemap, and why are they so important?
A sitemap lists the most valuable pages on a website, in turn ensuring that search engines can index and follow these pages. They also are an important aid in determining a website structure and allowing for ease of navigation. Just as the name sitemap would suggest, they work as a map or guide to your website’s content. A sitemap allows search engines and human users to search and find pages on your website, regardless of whether they are part of a larger link structure or how old or new they are.
Sitemap Distinctions:
Sitemaps have two main types that serve important but different purposes for your website.
XML Sitemap:
XML Sitemaps are by far the most commonly used; they are understood by search engine bots and work solely with search engines. In most cases, XML sitemaps for a given website can be found by simply adding /sitemap.xml to the tail of the URL. E.g., https://www.getfoundquick.com/post-sitemap.xml
Based on the overall number of URLs on your website, you may also need to split URLs into multiple sitemaps. XML sitemaps allow a maximum of 50,000 URLs- if your website exceeds this, it is recommended to further break down your website into multiple sitemaps for blogs, videos, etc.
HTML Sitemap:
Essentially the opposite of an XML sitemap, an HTML sitemap is one that can be placed on a website for users to navigate. It is common practice to include HTML sitemaps in the website footer in order for users to search for specific content that they may not have found through your link structuring.
What Pages Should Be Included In A Sitemap?
There is no official “rule” for sitemap inclusions, but the general practice is rather straightforward. When determining which pages to include, ask yourself two questions: Do I want users to see this page? and, Is this page useful or valuable to users? If you answered no to either of these questions, the page should not be included in the sitemap. Commonly excluded pages are thank-you page redirects as well as internal pages used for employees only.
It is important to note, however, that a page not listed in your sitemap does not mean search engines won’t index it. To avoid a page from search engine indexing, you will need to denote the page as no-index/follow.
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A properly organized sitemap can be influential in your website’s performance and search engine page rank. Looking to get started taking your website to the next level? Contact Boston Web Marketing today and see how our experts can help you perform better on search engines.