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XML Sitemaps

Try It Out​

Overview​

XML Sitemaps are files that provide search engines with a structured list of all pages on your website, helping them discover and crawl your content more efficiently.

What is an XML Sitemap?​

An XML Sitemap is a file that lists URLs for a site along with additional metadata about each URL:

  • When it was last updated
  • How often it changes
  • How important it is relative to other URLs

Why XML Sitemaps Matter​

  • Improved Crawling: Helps search engines discover all pages
  • Priority Signals: Indicates which pages are most important
  • Update Frequency: Shows how often content changes
  • Large Site Management: Essential for sites with 1000+ pages

Structure of an XML Sitemap​

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<urlset xmlns="http://www.sitemaps.org/schemas/sitemap/0.9">
  <url>
    <loc>https://example.com/page-1</loc>
    <lastmod>2024-01-15</lastmod>
    <changefreq>weekly</changefreq>
    <priority>0.8</priority>
  </url>
</urlset>

Best Practices​

  1. Keep it Updated: Automatically regenerate when content changes
  2. Submit to Search Engines: Upload to Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools
  3. Split Large Sitemaps: Keep under 50,000 URLs per sitemap
  4. Use Sitemap Index: For multiple sitemaps
  5. Include Only Canonical URLs: Avoid duplicates

Common Mistakes​

  • Including noindex pages
  • Listing redirect URLs
  • Missing lastmod dates
  • Exceeding size limits (50MB uncompressed)

Tools for Creating XML Sitemaps​

  • Yoast SEO (WordPress)
  • Screaming Frog
  • XML-Sitemaps.com
  • Custom scripts/generators

Further Reading​