Are you using a Sitemap on your website right now? Do you have it connected with your Google Webmaster Tools account? If you answered no to either of these questions then I suggest you continue reading and I’ll do my best to get you headed in the right direction. I’m still learning about Sitemaps and their benefits but I can vouch for the fact that ever since I began using them, I’ve seen increased search engine traffic, cleaner listings and rapid indexing of new website content.

So what exactly is a Sitemap and why should you use one?

Sitemaps are the definitive way to inform search engines about all the pages on your website. The Sitemap file is basically a list of every page on your website. According to the Google website, the benefit of using a Sitemap is to:

Make sure that Google knows about all the pages on your site, including URLs that may not be discoverable by Google’s normal crawling process.

I’ll agree with that but I can also say I’ve seen many more key benefits when using a Sitemap in conjunction with Google Webmaster Tools. For those of you unfamiliar with Google Webmaster Tools, it’s a free service provided by Google that allows you to submit your Sitemap directly to the search giant. After about 24 hours you’ll be able to see your website search term stats, crawl statistics, listing errors, html suggestions and more. It’s really a fantastic tool that every website owner should be utilizing for each website they own / manage. Don’t get me wrong, a Sitemap alone is a great start if you don’t have one already. However, combining your Sitemap with Google Webmaster Tools will take your indexing to the next level.

What benefits and improvements did I see after setting up my Sitemap and Google Webmaster Tools account?

The first benefit I noticed was increased search engine traffic from pages Google didn’t have listed in its index. The majority of the websites I run or have a hand in running are WordPress based so staying on top of indexed pages is almost impossible without the use of a Sitemap. By using a Sitemap we’re now guaranteed our new pages are picked up by Google on an daily basis it seems. This is fantastic for websites like this one that benefit from blog posts and articles being indexed right away.

Another benefit I began to notice after setting up Sitemaps and Webmaster Tools was the organic listing on my main business website suddenly developed Sitelinks. Sitelinks are your subpages listed under your meta description as clickable links. Until that time I had always thought companies purchased those extra links via Google Adwords or another method. Just 2 weeks ago I witnessed a client website I manage develop its first Sitelink after only a few short months since adding a Sitemap and setting up Google Webmaster Tools for them.

I would love to get into all the other benefits that Google Webmaster Tools has to offer but I think that would be best saved for a future post. Instead, let’s focus on getting your website sitemap generated and submitted to the Webmaster Tools area since that was the goal of this posting!

Creating a Sitemap (sitemap.xml) for a Static Website

If you’re like me, you’re going to have a small amount of websites that are CMS free and simply run on good ‘ol HTML. Regardless of the coding language involved, if your website content rarely changes and you don’t have access to free community built Plugins to automate the Sitemap process, I would recommend using an online generator. I have absolutely no affiliation with the generator I’m about to suggest… it’s simply the one I’ve had bookmarked and used for a few smaller websites in the past.

XML-Sitemaps.com – Simply open the page, enter your website URL and press the Start button. Once completed, you will be presented with a few different file formats of your sitemap. The key file format we’re after is the sitemap.xml file. Save the .xml Sitemap file to your computer. You now want to upload that sitemap.xml file to your main website folder (root folder). Once the xml file is uploaded, your sitemap work is now done. Off to Google we go!

Bonus Sitemap Tips

• Download and integrate the sitemap.html file into your website as an added bonus. From what I’ve read, having a sitemap directly on your website (linked within your sections, footer or etc) is also beneficial for SEO.
• Don’t forget to come back and generate a new sitemap.xml file if you ever add, delete or change the address of any pages. An outdated sitemap.xml file isn’t going to do you any good.
• You do not need to notify Google everytime your Sitemap changes. Once you connect your Sitemap to Google Webmaster Tools, Google will check back for updates automatically.

Creating a Sitemap (sitemap.xml) for a Dynamic Website

A dynamic website such as a blog has a good chance of adding new content / pages on a daily basis. You could imagine how much of a headache it would be manually modifying the sitemap.xml file daily or even generating it online daily. Luckily for us, many of the well-known CMS scripts that run these dynamic websites now come with Sitemap Plugins that will automate everything from Sitemap creation to Sitemap updating and notifying of Google. Seeing as this website uses WordPress, I opted to go with the Google XML Sitemaps Plugin. After the initial setup and configuration, it’s back to adding blogs and pages while the Sitemap is on full automation! Be sure to read all of the documentation that comes with the plugin you choose to install.

For a complete list of all CMS Plugins available, please check here:
Google Sitemap Generator List

Creating a robots.txt file
Without getting too off track, I’ve been told from multiple people that if you’re using a sitemap.xml file then you should be directing all search engines to that file as they come to crawl your website. The way to do this is by setting up a robots.txt file. Simply create a new file in notepad and within it, paste the following:

User-agent: *
Allow: /
Disallow: /client/
Sitemap: http://www.your_website_here.com/sitemap.xml

Feel free to comment below if you have any questions about robots.txt or how they work. I likely touch on the subject more down the road.

Submitting your sitemap.xml file to Google

Now that we have a sitemap.xml file generated for your website, we’ll now want to link that up with your Google Webmaster Tools account. If you don’t have an account yet, lets head on over to the website and get signed up. Click here to open up the Google Webmaster Tools in a new window.

Once you’re signed up and logged into the Tools area, the first thing we want to do is Add a site. Google’s website lists the process as:

1. Sign into Google Webmaster Tools with your Google Account.
2. Click Add a site, and type the URL of the site you want to add. Make sure you type the entire URL, such as http://www.example.com/
3. Click Continue. The Site verification page opens.
4. (Optional) In the Name box, type a name for your site (for example, My Blog).
5. Select the verification method you want, and follow the instructions.

Now that you have your website added and verified, it’s time to finally connect your sitemap.xml file with the website listing you just added. On the main page of your tools account will be the domain name / website you just added. Let’s click on it. A page will open showing a bunch of empty boxes with “No data available” messages. Look for the box titled “Sitemaps” and then click on the “Submit a Sitemap” link. On the page that loads you’ll click the Submit a Sitemap button at the top, enter your sitemap.xml URL and then press the submit button. If all goes well, you received no errors and your Sitemap is now connected! If any errors occur, Google will post them directly to that page within a few short minutes (if not instantly).

Simply wait 24-36 hours and you’ll start seeing the benefits a Sitemap and Google Webmaster Tools can offer your website. Be sure to look around the Google Webmaster Tools area as it has a lot more to offer then just Sitemap submission.

Good luck and be sure to comment and let me know how you made out. If you feel I was too broad with my descriptions I would be more than happy to get into the step by step details if need be.

Hug your website for me!