How to create a good sitemap for Google
Posted: Thu Dec 12, 2024 5:14 am
A sitemap is a directory containing all the information about a website to facilitate crawling . Using the sitemap, search engines will identify the content displayed to satisfy user queries when the pages contained in the map match the user's criteria.
The sitemap is organized hierarchically based on the relevance of the pages contained in it. The most relevant pages are displayed at the top, while the less important pages are placed at the bottom. Today we are going to explain in detail how to create a good sitemap on Google to improve web positioning.
[wp-svg-icons icon=”point-right” wrap=”i”] Tipos de sitemap
There are two types of sitemaps that overseas chinese in canada data can be configured in XML and HTML . The main difference between the two is that the HTML sitemap can be used additionally by users outside of search engines to find content within the website by exploring its hierarchy. The XML sitemap, on the other hand, can only be seen by search engines that use it to crawl indexed URLs and provide an answer to the query.
Which is more convenient of the two?
Both XML sitemaps and HTML sitemaps are crawlable. However, their functionality is different, since as we have pointed out above, the HTML sitemap is primarily intended to serve as a navigation index for website visitors.
The XML sitemap, on the other hand, is developed specifically for search engines and is therefore linked to the robots.txt file, which can tell search engines which pages should be indexed within the site and which should not. Furthermore, the sitemap.xml also allows you to include certain parameters such as crawl frequency, which allows for better adaptability for search engines. Not all tools are compatible with both formats, and generally the XML sitemap is the one chosen as the site map by most websites.
How many pages should I index in the sitemap?
Ideally, when considering how to make a good sitemap for Google, the number of indexed pages should match the number of pages submitted. However, in practice this is not always the case and some websites may have special requirements for certain pages, categories and tags that need to be omitted. So the answer in this case will depend on each website.
What is important in this section is to maintain a certain logic, for example, if you do not have the tags indexed, it does not make sense to include them in the sitemap to send to Google. However, one of the advantages of the XML sitemap is that you can adjust all these details with just a couple of clicks to obtain a sitemap adapted to all needs.
How many sitemaps should I create for my site?
While for most websites, simply submitting one sitemap is more than enough, large sites with more than 50,000 indexed URLs should consider creating multiple sitemaps for more efficient structuring. This is because a standard sitemap is limited to 50,000 URLs per file, so a website that exceeds that number should include multiple sitemaps to account for all missing pages, as images, videos, and other multimedia files would all take up a URL within the sitemap.
How to create a good sitemap for Google; Tools and tips
Now that we have thoroughly explained what a sitemap is and what it is used for, we are going to explain how to create a good sitemap for Google and the different tools available to us.
All in one SEO y SEO by Yoast
If you are going to create your sitemap in WordPress like most bloggers, you can make use of either of these two plugins that have a sitemap creation function specifically designed for this purpose.
The difference between the sitemap created with SEO by Yoast or with All in One SEO is that All in One has a standard structure and is much more customizable. SEO by Yoast, on the other hand, creates a sitemap with a different hierarchy, creating an individual map for posts, another for categories, pages, etc.
The SEO by Yoast plugin does not have any customization options in the sitemap creation function. However, the number of entries can be limited by manually editing the code. In this regard, the all in one SEO plugin is much more complete for this purpose, as it allows a wide range of configuration including and excluding pages from the map, as well as customizing the crawl frequency among other parameters to improve its quality.
Google XML sitemap
Apart from SEO plugins, Google XML sitemap is one of the most widely used plugins for WordPress by users of the platform for this purpose. The only function of this plugin is to send the sitemap, allowing a wide range of configuration very similar to that offered by all in one SEO.
The plugin has been running on the platform for many years and performs its function perfectly . The only drawback we could raise in its operation is that it is a little more demanding on system resources than the function implemented in the plugins mentioned above.
The sitemap is organized hierarchically based on the relevance of the pages contained in it. The most relevant pages are displayed at the top, while the less important pages are placed at the bottom. Today we are going to explain in detail how to create a good sitemap on Google to improve web positioning.
[wp-svg-icons icon=”point-right” wrap=”i”] Tipos de sitemap
There are two types of sitemaps that overseas chinese in canada data can be configured in XML and HTML . The main difference between the two is that the HTML sitemap can be used additionally by users outside of search engines to find content within the website by exploring its hierarchy. The XML sitemap, on the other hand, can only be seen by search engines that use it to crawl indexed URLs and provide an answer to the query.
Which is more convenient of the two?
Both XML sitemaps and HTML sitemaps are crawlable. However, their functionality is different, since as we have pointed out above, the HTML sitemap is primarily intended to serve as a navigation index for website visitors.
The XML sitemap, on the other hand, is developed specifically for search engines and is therefore linked to the robots.txt file, which can tell search engines which pages should be indexed within the site and which should not. Furthermore, the sitemap.xml also allows you to include certain parameters such as crawl frequency, which allows for better adaptability for search engines. Not all tools are compatible with both formats, and generally the XML sitemap is the one chosen as the site map by most websites.
How many pages should I index in the sitemap?
Ideally, when considering how to make a good sitemap for Google, the number of indexed pages should match the number of pages submitted. However, in practice this is not always the case and some websites may have special requirements for certain pages, categories and tags that need to be omitted. So the answer in this case will depend on each website.
What is important in this section is to maintain a certain logic, for example, if you do not have the tags indexed, it does not make sense to include them in the sitemap to send to Google. However, one of the advantages of the XML sitemap is that you can adjust all these details with just a couple of clicks to obtain a sitemap adapted to all needs.
How many sitemaps should I create for my site?
While for most websites, simply submitting one sitemap is more than enough, large sites with more than 50,000 indexed URLs should consider creating multiple sitemaps for more efficient structuring. This is because a standard sitemap is limited to 50,000 URLs per file, so a website that exceeds that number should include multiple sitemaps to account for all missing pages, as images, videos, and other multimedia files would all take up a URL within the sitemap.
How to create a good sitemap for Google; Tools and tips
Now that we have thoroughly explained what a sitemap is and what it is used for, we are going to explain how to create a good sitemap for Google and the different tools available to us.
All in one SEO y SEO by Yoast
If you are going to create your sitemap in WordPress like most bloggers, you can make use of either of these two plugins that have a sitemap creation function specifically designed for this purpose.
The difference between the sitemap created with SEO by Yoast or with All in One SEO is that All in One has a standard structure and is much more customizable. SEO by Yoast, on the other hand, creates a sitemap with a different hierarchy, creating an individual map for posts, another for categories, pages, etc.
The SEO by Yoast plugin does not have any customization options in the sitemap creation function. However, the number of entries can be limited by manually editing the code. In this regard, the all in one SEO plugin is much more complete for this purpose, as it allows a wide range of configuration including and excluding pages from the map, as well as customizing the crawl frequency among other parameters to improve its quality.
Google XML sitemap
Apart from SEO plugins, Google XML sitemap is one of the most widely used plugins for WordPress by users of the platform for this purpose. The only function of this plugin is to send the sitemap, allowing a wide range of configuration very similar to that offered by all in one SEO.
The plugin has been running on the platform for many years and performs its function perfectly . The only drawback we could raise in its operation is that it is a little more demanding on system resources than the function implemented in the plugins mentioned above.