Creating a website sitemap

[Kerrib4]

Hi, I was wondering if anyone can give me some advice on creating a sitemap for my website? Also, is it beneficial for Google to have a sitemap on my website? I'm not sure how to go about creating one.

Thanks.

 

[cmcp]

A sitemap is a handy navigation tool and makes your website more accessible, it's even a good start to be signposting to your main areas.

There's another debate going on in the SEO forum about sitemaps and Google serps. They also discuss XML sitemaps, which are there for Google to read.

 

[marketingquotes]

Hi Kerrib4,

Apparently for SEO having a sitemap is a really good move as search engines like it.

So definitely get one set up.

Would you be looking to get one set up by yourself or would you like a few designers to put some ideas and quotes together on it?

Regards,

Marketing Quotes Support

 

[Liam Conal]

I have created several web sites in the last two years and creating a sitemap.xml file then registering it with Google resulted in my site key words being found via Google search within 3 days. This is a much quicker result than I've achieved by any other method. Putting Google "Adsense" adverts on a site also seemed to help, (although you may not want adverts on your site!)

There are several web tools that offer to create the sitemap.xml file for you. All you have to do then is to upload it to your server and register it with Google.

If you use an Apple Mac then it would be worth buying "Rage Google Sitemap Automator", since this makes the creation, submission and maintenance of a sitemap.xml file a simple matter. (I say this as a user - I am in no way affiliated with the software company.)

If you also want to create a visible Site Map page, then the xml file might be a useful starting point for creating an html page.

 

[fisicx]

Apparently for SEO having a sitemap is a really good move as search engines like it.

No no no no!

If your site is already in the index then a sitemap can really mess up your ranking. If you aren't in the index then a sitemap can block your pages from ranking well.

Google says it won't adversely affect your ranking but there is too much evidence that it can hurt unless you spend time setting it up properly.

 

[stylistichosting]

If you submit an XML sitemap to Google Web Master tools it will only index pages that are not already indexed. It is quite clear that this is what it does.

 

[Maxvel]

your website should have html and xml sitemap

 

[jamie1183]

How many pages do you have in your website, there are some really good free sitemap builders available online but are generally limited to a number of pages.

If you have alot of pages feel free to PM me and I can install our script we developed that will generate you a sitemap. It is a good idea to setup a google webmasters account and submit a sitemap and keep it updated regularly, I normally setup clients sites with a cron job to re-create the sitemap around once per week.

 

[Kerrib4]

I see some of you have said it could be a negative thing to create a sitemap on a site that is already indexed in Google. I am actually just in the process of moving my site to a new domain (I am getting the site completely redesigned and changing my product range somewhat).

I'm not sure how many pages my new site will have yet. But is it worth creating a sitemap for this new site before it is indexed by Google?