Does anyone have suggestions for a good XML Sitemap Generator?
-
Does anyone have any suggestions on a good XML Sitemap Generator? Also interested in best practices and tips for updating the XML Sitemap.
I typically have relied on my web developers to do this however it seems that they have not been setting this up with SEO in mind.
-
Google will look for /sitemaps.xml. This is pretty standard.
Some people may not name it that way - not advised. But if you're using the other sitemaps for images, videos, etc, then you can use the robots.txt file to tell search engines where they are explicitly.
Also, be sure to set up an account at http://www.google.com/webmasters/ and submit your sitemaps there.
-
Thanks for the info! I'm working on loading up the xml-sitemaps software now.
What is the purpose of a link to all the sitemaps in a robots.txt file?
-
If you have ftp access to the root, you can simply overwrite the current one with a new one. Google will pick it up.
Also, you should include a link to all your sitemaps in a robots.txt file - also in the root. If you look at SEOMoz's robots.txt file, you can see how to do that. http://www.seomoz.org/robots.txt
-
there is already a sitemap on my server that was generated by my web developers. What is the best practice for overriding an existing site map?
-
Thank you Cyril. Based on my research as well this seems to be a good option. Google webmaster tools also recommends it.
-
Thanks Jbrock!
That really helps to see how yours is set up. My website developer currently has a sitemap set up however I don't think its taking advantage of all the features possible.
-
You can probably set it to ignore parameters you don't want added to the sitemap. Here's a screenshot from my standalone version to give you an idea of the settings.
-
I bought the standalone version of http://www.xml-sitemaps.com/standalone-google-sitemap-generator.html in 2007 or 8 and have really liked it. They've really kept the product updated, but the $19.99 price hasn't changed since.
It gives you a high degree of control, supports really large websites, generates multiple sitemaps (xml, image, video, news, mobile, ror, etc.) and more. Plus, updates are free for life once you purchase.
Use the free generator on the homepage to see how it works.
-
Hey Nathan,
I've used this one in the past <cite>www.xml-sitemaps.com/ </cite>
It works pretty decently for me, but you have to make sure you edit it after its created. Look for pages that no longer exist or are redirected somewhere else. Also make sure you aren't listing any pages with search query's in them, (www.url.com/index.php**?xxxx**) if you use search query's that way.
Updating is just what it is, every time you create a new page on your site, you need to update the site map.
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Keyword research tools that provide specific suggestions re: Voice Search?
Hi, I'm wondering which are the best Keyword research tools that provide specific volumes and suggestions re: Voice Search - including on question type searches? Any suggestions would be brilliant - thanks in advance, Luke
Moz Pro | | McTaggart0 -
Before Migration/after(www/non-www/http/https) - Good concentration needed :p
Hi all, Im confusing between those www's and http's. If i go to searchbar (chrome) and ENTER: www.mywebsite.nl, It changes to https://www.mywebsite.nl
Moz Pro | | Dreamgame2016
( with www, and https:// not used) / Its OK next: typing in searchbar and enter: mywebsite.nl, It changes to https://mywebsite.nl (without www and https:// ) / OK Next: www.mywebsite.nl, it stay the same, just https:// added: https://mywebsite.nl (used with https://) / OK Now its comes: If I do it again without http**(s)://mywebsite.nl, **It changes to https://www.mywebsite.nl/?SID=bccbuhvi1cf53r188bpvskn597 / NOT OK 😛 In google search console (webmastertool) I gave property for the https://mywebsite.nl and https://www.mywebsite.nl Each of the website, Im seeying data clicks/ volume keywords etc, so both of them functionating By search console: https://www.mywebsite.nl (With www) I see crawlfaults/errors: 1633 (the url has not linked existing page) I see again: "?SID=..." after urls, example: mywebsite.nl/blabla/?SID=m07ev6lliefbf0tfhe4kf0ih54 By search console - other website: https://mywebsite.nl **(none-www) **you see two crawlfaults/errors! Bad influance for my SEO, because of no existed pages, bad urls and dubble content. Bye bye keywords! Lets analyze/crawl with Moz tool ofcourse ^^: Pages with High Priority Issues: | 2646 | Duplicate Page Content |
| 14 | 4XX Client Error |
| 3 | Crawl Attempt Error |
| 1 | Title Missing or Empty | Medium priority: | 9618 | Temporary Redirect |
| 2688 | Duplicate Page Title |
| 13 | Title Element is Too Long |
| 1 | Missing Meta Description Tag | After seeying this results what is the best option (no losing link-juice)? redirect 301? www to none-www (https://) ? Shortly I am going to change my domain provider and the website template in magento. After that I am going to focus on the SEO implementation. First, I have to solve this problem. Who can give me an advice for this situation? Regarding, Newbee0 -
Anyone had an Extensive Look at Hubspot SEO Features and Tools ?
Mozz, Some co-workers are looking into some of the of tools that Hubspot offer as part of there marketing package, I understand it is part of a bigger picture for the hubspot software and moz is much more focused on technical seo etc, But i am just wondering if anyone had spent any extensive time using the hubspot software and has any feedback on the tools? Is there anything (Just the seo section) that moz cannot ? there are alot of really great moz tools i use that i haven't seen in the hubspot software, like the crawl test, the onpage grading doesn't look at as many aspects as moz, link information and opportunities looked limited compared to moz/majestic seo , no landing page tool like the one built into moz analytics campaigns and hubspot just generally seemed to provide less information ? Any advice or feedback would be grealy appreciated ? Thanks James
Moz Pro | | Antony_Towle0 -
Noindex/nofollow on blog comments; is it good or bad ?
Hi, I changed the design of one my wordpress website at the beginning of the month. I also added a "facebook seo comments" plugin to rewrite facebook comments as normal comments. As most of the website comments are facebook comments, I went from 250 noindex/nofollow comments to 950; URL's are ?replytocom=4822 etc. Moz campaign noticed it and I'm asking myself : is it good to have comments in noindex/nofollow ? Should I do something about this ? Erwan.
Moz Pro | | johnny1220 -
Why might Google be crawling via old sitemap, when the new one has been submitted and verified?
We have recently relaunched Scoutzie.com and re-submitted our new sitemap to Google. When I look on Webmaster tools, our new sitemap has been submitted just fine, but at the same time, Google is finding a lot of 404s when crawling the site. My understanding, it is still using crawling the old links, which do not exists. How can I tell Google to refresh it's index and to stop looking at all the old links?
Moz Pro | | scoutzie0 -
I cant generate my Mozscape API
I have tried to generate my Mozscape API numerous times after waiting at least 20 mins between. Any help would be great.
Moz Pro | | MLMLEADZONE1 -
SEOMoz toolbar - Anyone else have problems with Search Profiles?
(Using Firefox 7.0.1) I just downloaded the toolbar and the Custom Search Profiles do not work--clicking on any of them adds "%" and numbers to the search query. I've created a couple of specific locations and I'd really like to get this figured out. Does this function work correctly for anyone? Am I doing something wrong?
Moz Pro | | Court_LOQUA0 -
Title tag on sitemap.xml
The SEO moz is showing an error on one of the sites within my SE Moz account campaign under Crawl Diagnostics: Title tag missing or empty. No problem here but the file associated with this issue is sitemap.xml and that just dose't look right as as far as I know xml files are title tag free. I've searched around and i've been able only to confirm my initial thought that sitemap.xml dose't use a title tag .. like any other xml. is this an issue ? (the error that is) or i should let it slide. can it be fixed ? if yes, how ? Thanks !
Moz Pro | | eyepaq1