Easy Steps to Create a Sitemap XML file
Once you've deployed part or all of your SEO page strategy, the best thing you can do is create and register an update sitemap.xml file. This XML Sitemap generator tool will generate a file seen only by search engine crawlers. It's a compiled representation of all the pages on your website with titles, keywords, structured data, content and the relationships between pages (click depth) on your website.
Having an up-to-date sitemap.xml file stored on your hosting account with your web pages allows the next cycle of a search engine crawlers to process the xml file in it's crawler readable state, rather than crawl all of your site's files and assemble an aggregate of the same on the fly.
If you go through the following steps and provide these crawlers with exactly what they need, they will like your site material better than every site lack lacks a sitemap.xml file. If you've already incorporated some SEO techniques onto your pages it will compile in a more organized format than a non-optimized site, which is even better. It's a lot like getting seated in a 'jacket required' restuarant. Have a jacket? No problem. If you don't, they might cloak you with a loaner and seat you, but can't expect prime seating.
Do I Already Have a Sitemap.XML file?
The easiest way for you to determine it's existence would be you use Google search with operators. In Google's search bar type: site:yoursite.com ext:xml.
Your telling Google to search exclusively (within your site) for a file with an extension of ".xml". Press enter and you'll see results if a sitemap.xml file is present on your site. You can click the results and view it in human-readable form or if you're feeling really adventurous, you can right-click your mouse within in the page displayed and select 'view source'. This will display what the crawlers read to help rank your site.
You should take notice of dates within the files which will give you an idea of how current the file is. There are some WordPress plug-ins and paid for sitemap generators that update the sitemap each time you publish, but it's good practice to manually check. If your's does not exist, create one. If it does exist, it should be updated in conjunction with any navigational changes made to your site, upon adding new products or services, or the publication of any new articles.
How to Generate Your Sitemap.XML file
Go to this XML Sitemap generator tool. There are many free tools and some paid, that generate a sitemap.xml file for you but this site provides easy to understand instruction you can follow and will compile up to 500 individual pages for free.
Enter your URL and click start. The application will crawl your site and create a sitemap that reflect the current state of your site's architecture.
The Sitemap is Ready, Now What?
Once the process is complete, you'll see some bare statistics which provided you scanned your homepage, are the number of pages in your domain. Larger sites may split up their xml files by products, videos, articles, subdomains which is fine so long as the path and manner in which the are referenced lines within the domain. You can see additional details within the fresh sitemap generated or move right on to making it visual to search engines.
Go Live With Your Sitemap.XML file
- Download your xml sitemap file -
- Upload it to the domain root folder of your website
- Then open your Google Search Console account and submit. Google Search Console Submit Sitemap.
Avajae Solutions would generate and upload a new/ updated sitemap as part of our SEO Implementation plan but if you've followed the instructions and uploaded yourself, now Google is aware that your taking a new big step toward playing the search ranking game at a higher level that previously. It won't rank you on page 1 for your keywords automatically but everyone on page 1 has an up to date sitemap.