Sitemaps are an incredibly useful tool that can drastically improve a website’s SEO ranking. Websites with poor sitemaps often miss opportunities to connect potential clients with valuable information listed on their website. Every website should have a sitemap as it allows them to optimize their site and the way Google views it. So what is a sitemap? Here’s everything you need to know!
What is a sitemap?
And XML sitemap operates as a roadmap of sorts. It lets Google see all the important pages on your website and process their relevant information and how it relates to consumer searches. Not all pages on your site may have internal links. Even though that may be a problem, sitemaps help to offer a solution. A sitemap lists all of your website’s important pages in an organized way.
This allows Google to crawl your site and pull each page’s information. This is necessary because the better understanding Google has of your site, the more likely your information will be presented in relevant searches.
How is a sitemap beneficial?
A sitemap is beneficial for several reasons. Not only does it collect your relevant information and display it for Google to analyze, it also helps with load time. Many sitemaps collect information from 50.000 URLs. They then store this information until Google needs to access it. However, 50,000 is a lot. Certain sitemaps, like those you can obtain through Yoast, limit that number to 1,000. (Note: if you have more than 1,000 posts on your site you can simply create another sitemap for additional posts.)
This smaller number means that Google can process your page’s information more quickly and therefore load the results to any party who has searched something related. Simply put, sitemaps benefit you by organizing your website’s info and allowing Google to access and load it quickly and efficiently.
Do you need a sitemap?
Some sources say that sitemaps are beneficial only for large websites. Their thinking is that more information needs more organization, right? However we believe that all websites can benefit from the use of a sitemap. This is because every website needs Google to be able to find and analyze their information. Yoast’s SEO plugin makes creating your sitemap easy and understandable. Every website owner should consider acquiring one to help optimize their website and increase traffic.
How to Get a Sitemap
Obtaining a sitemap is easy. While the thought of organizing your content may seem overwhelming, Yoast offers clear instructions that help make it simple and easy to understand. An abridged form is as follows:
- Log into your Wordpress site
- Click “SEO”
- Select “General”
- Click “Features”
- Enable the XML Sitemap feature by toggling the switch “On”
- Save your changes
It’s that simple. However, if you need help or have questions, there are many SEO professionals who can help ensure you’re doing everything you can to help your website and reach new clients.
We Can Help!
Effect Web Agency provides web design and marketing services for local, regional, national, and international clients. Contact us to learn how you can improve your online visibility.
