Sitemaps? What are they?

Website sitemaps are the street directory for all the pages on a website. They allow for external links to function, and they help search engines crawl your website for relevant information.

They act as the repository for all the information regarding text, images, video, etc., that you have on your site. This includes things like:

– A list of all your pages
– Publication date of posts
– Video running time and age rating
– Location of images on your page

Why Should I Use a Website Sitemap?

Well, aside from making your website easier for viewers to use – bad websites lead to bad inquiries and sales, remember? – a website sitemap helps boot your Google-ability. They make you and your business easier to find online!

A good website sitemap will work in tandem with a search-engine-optimized solid copy! In layman’s terms: a sitemap helps boost your SEO and moves your website to the top of people’s search lists. Simply put: a sitemap and SEO helps flag your website to google.

Like a regular map, a website sitemap shows all the links and paths that connect your pages and what content lives on them. All Google has to do is peruse the map and tell searchers where to go!

Visibility is key to growing any business – a website sitemap is key to visibility!

What Kind of Website Sitemap Should I Use?

Now we’re talking! There are two kinds of website sitemaps that you can choose from:

– HTML
– XML

HTML website sitemaps are designed to help human users find their way around. However, this is not to say that it isn’t also helpful for search engines too! Search engines give points to websites that are easier to use, so an HTML website sitemap will also increase your visibility.

HTML sitemaps are also great for websites with lots of content, e.g. long lists, archived information, etc. – they can help people find what they’re looking for without spending hours trolling through.

You guessed it! XML is designed for our handy cyber-pals, and search engines! XML is a file written in its own language that search engines can read to quickly identify your site’s content. In fact, Google even runs its own XML plug-in.

They are also helpful and weeding out double-ups of content that may appear on your site.