The term XML sitemap daunts many people!

People think it’s very technical and complex. Are you one among them?

If yes, then be with us for the next few minutes.

Look, to some extent, we agree that XML sitemap comes under the technical aspect of SEO. But it is NOT as complex as you think.

It requires zero coding experience and no prior technical expertise. It requires some understanding to execute the same properly.

It is simple and easy to execute. Let’s not wait anymore!

Without further ado, let’s delve deep into the core of XML sitemaps and explain it to you. 

What Is XML Sitemap?

To begin with, consider XML sitemap as an information provider that informs the search engine about the content on your site.

An XML sitemap is a file or a list that consists of all the necessary information about your web pages. If you want to showcase any file or page in the search engine, it should be present in your XML sitemap.

It helps to crawl the information on your site and ensures prompt content discovery. While understanding the XML sitemap, you’ll come across the terms crawling and indexing. Do you know what they refer to?

Google Crawl: It helps Google to identify the existing or updated content on your websites. Google Crawl is an important aspect of creating the XML sitemap.

Indexing: As soon as crawling is done on a specific page by Google, the page is considered to be indexed.  

Why Do You Need XML Sitemap?

Now that you have some idea about XML sitemap, you might be thinking about why it is needed. Let’s understand the significance of the XML sitemap in a step-by-step manner.

An XML sitemap helps to identify:

  • The location of a specific page.
  • When the page was modified last time.
  • What content has been changed.
  • The number of linked pages.

In simple words, an XML sitemap helps to crawl and index which is important for your website’s ranking. Read Also: Blogger Outreach, Viacon, SeoGrowth Engine

How To Create a Sitemap?

Your website might have multiple URLs that lead to the same page or content. But if multiple URLs have the access to similar content then which URLs should google prioritise over others?

Here canonical URLs come into effect.

In simple words, canonical URLs are the Prioritised URLs!

While creating an XML sitemap, you have instructed Google to give priority to some URLs and display them in the search results. These are called canonical URLs.

Once you have finalized the canonical URLs, google will start creating the XML sitemap counting on its methodologies.

So let’s explore the different types of sitemaps that  you can create: 

1. CMS-generated Sitemap

CMS-generated XML sitemaps are quite popular and easy to execute. In this case, you give your CMS the authority to create a sitemap for you.

In quite a number of CMS, sitemaps are already there and you don’t need to generate XML sitemaps separately.

On the contrary to this, automated CMS-generated sitemaps are not available in some cases. In that case, you have to search for it and execute it on your own.

2. Create A Sitemap Manually 

Sitemaps that contain less than dozens of URLs require the process of manual sitemap creation.

For creating a sitemap manually we recommend you go through the sitemap formats and then initiate the process.

Create the sitemap by adhering to the syntax mentioned in the format and note it down.

Naming the sitemap file depends on two factors:

  • How you want to name it 
  • It should not exceed the character limit

 We, as a team of experts, don’t suggest you create larger sitemaps on your own as it is a time-taking and mundane process. 

3. Auto-generated Sitemap

If your XML sitemap list has more than a dozen URLs, now it’s time for you to create XML sitemaps automatically. 

You might come across multiple tools that offer the same but we always recommend letting your website software execute the task for you.

Extract the URLs from your website’s database and make sure the file is not more than 50 MB. If needed, ask for help from developers. 

How To Submit Your Sitemap

There are many ways through which you can submit your sitemap to Google. But before submitting your sitemap, make sure it is up to date.  

Here’s how you can submit your sitemap to Google: 

  • You can share your sitemap’s location in the Google search console. 
  • You can reach out to Google by using the ping tool and let them know if anything is new or updated. 
  • You can also mention the path of your sitemap in the robots.txt file. 

Final Thoughts

It doesn't matter whether you are creating XML sitemaps for the first time or have done it earlier, you should NOT consider it as a stumbling block as many people think. 

Have you ever created an XML sitemap for your website? If not then create it right away! 

If you already have created one, then update the file and make it easier for Google to crawl. 

Still have doubts? Want to know more about this? Or you might be in a dilemma, not knowing where to start! 

Don’t worry, we are a leading organisation in this industry and we can guide you in a step-by-step manner. 

For any doubts, comment below and let us know how we can help you out. We will be more than happy to help you out.