The Ultimate Guide to Creating a Sitemap for Better SEO

By April 2, 2023Blogposts

A sitemap is a file that has a list of all of your website’s pages. It’s a key tool for search engine optimization (SEO) because it helps search engine crawlers find their way around your website and figure out how it’s put together. Here’s how to make a sitemap to help with SEO:

Learn about the different kinds of sitemaps

There are two kinds of sitemaps: those that use XML and those that use HTML. HTML sitemaps are made for people to use, while XML sitemaps are mostly for search engines. XML sitemaps are the most important for SEO because they tell search engines how your site is set up and what pages are on it.

Use a Sitemap Generator

You can make a sitemap for your website with the help of a number of tools. Sitemap generators are built into a lot of content management systems (CMS). If your CMS doesn’t have one, you can use one of the many free online sitemap generators. XML Sitemap Generator, Screaming Frog, and Google XML Sitemaps are some of the more popular ones.

Check for mistakes.

Once you have made your sitemap, you should check it for mistakes. You can use tools like Google Search Console to see if your sitemap has any bugs or warnings. Some of the most common mistakes are broken links, missing pages, and wrong URLs.

Search engines should have your Sitemap.

Once you’ve made a sitemap and checked it, you need to send it to search engines. The best place to send Google your sitemap is through Google Search Console. Bing also has a tool for submitting sitemaps that works the same way. When you send your sitemap to search engines, it makes it easier for them to crawl and index your site.

Sitemaps should be updated often.

As you add or remove pages from your website, it’s important to keep your sitemap up to date. You should regularly update your sitemap so that search engines always have the most up-to-date information about your website. Most CMSs have automatic sitemap generators that will update your sitemap whenever you make changes to your website.

Making a sitemap is an important step in search engine optimization. A well-structured sitemap can help search engines crawl and index your website faster, which can help your site show up higher in search results and be easier to find.

by @MarkPavelich CEO The Mark Consulting & Marketing