Type of sitemap
-
I have a client with a large sitemap in html for his web shop. I am wondering though if i would be better to have a xml sitemap for Google.
Is there any advantage in type of sitemap?
-
Hi Peter,
The generated html sitemap is generated once a day. So most of the time it is up to date. Even though it does generate some 404's when products from the webshop are removed earlier in the day.
I will advice the webmaster to look for an XML sitemap generator for magento.
Thanks Peter for your attention and advice.
Much appreciated
Auke
-
Hi Auke
Yes, I use the XML format for creating sitemaps all the time. I don't use any other format for sitemap submission.
With your client is the sitemap they have up to date? Either way it would better to create a latest version in XML format. Maybe try this one:
http://www.web-site-map.com/google-sitemap.php
Peter
-
Thanks Peter,
Do you have tested this, or have experience with different types of sitemaps?
Anybody else any experience with this?
-
Hi Auke
Yes there is. Search engines like Google, Bing and Yahoo follow the protocol specified by sitemaps.org which is XML. It's not that a sitemap in a different format won't work but you are best sticking with the convention that they agree on.
More info is here: https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/183668?hl=en
I hope that helps,
Peter
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
-
Sitemap.xml strategy for site with thousands of pages
I have a client that has a HUGE website with thousands of product pages. We don't currently have a sitemap.xml because it would take so much power to map the sitemap. I have thought about creating a sitemap for the key pages on the website - but didn't want to hurt the SEO on the thousands of product pages. If you have a sitemap.xml that only has some of the pages on your site - will it negatively impact the other pages, that Google has indexed - but are not listed on the sitemap.xml.
Technical SEO | | jerrico10 -
Do I submit a sitemap for a highly dynamic site or not? If so, what's the best way to go about doing it?
I do SEO for online boutique marketplace. I've been here for about 4 weeks and no one's done there SEO (they've been around for about 5 years), so there's lots to do. A big concern is whether or not to submit a sitemap, and if I do submit one, what's the best way to go about doing one.
Technical SEO | | Jane.com0 -
Sitemap Rules
Hello there, I have some questions pertaining to sitemaps that I would appreciate some guidance on. 1. Can an XML sitemap contain URLs that are blocked by robots.txt? Logically, it makes sense to me to not include pages blocked by robots.txt but would like some clarity on the matter i.e. will having pages blocked by robots.txt in a sitemap, negatively impact the benefit of a sitemap? 2. Can a XML sitemap include URLs from multiple subdomains? For example: http://www.example.com/www-sitemap.xml would include the home page URL of two other subdomains i.e. http://blog.example.com/ & http://blog2.example.com/ Thanks
Technical SEO | | SEONOW1230 -
Sitemap all of a sudden only indexing 2 out of 5000+ pages
Any ideas why this happened? Our sitemap looks the same. Also, our total number of pages indexed has not decreased, just the sitemap. Could this eventually affect my pages being in the index?
Technical SEO | | rock220 -
Omitting URLs from XML Sitemap - Bad??
Hi all, We are working on an extremely large retail site with some major duplicate content issues that we are in the process of remedying. The site also does not currently have an XML sitemap. Would it be advisable to create a small XML sitemap with only the main category pages for the time being, and then after our duplicate content issues are resolved, uploading the complete sitemap? Or should we wait to upload anything until all work is complete down to the product page level and canonicals are in place? Will uploading a incomplete sitemap be fraudulent or misleading in the eyes of the search engines and prompt a penalty, or would having at least the main pages mapped while we continue work be okay? Please let me know if more info is needed to answer! Thanks in advance!
Technical SEO | | seo320 -
SITEMAP.asp having 10,000 pages
A website having more than 10,000 pages, as per the Google Algorithm If I restrict the page links to 100 for sitemap.asp then I have to generate 100 pages, any idea to shorten the process. Please advice.
Technical SEO | | younus0 -
Video Sitemaps <video:content_loc>and<video:player_loc></video:player_loc></video:content_loc>
Hi guys, If I'm creating a video sitemap do I need to use both: video:content_locandvideo:player_loc</video:player_loc></video:content_loc> Or could I just use video:content_loc?</video:content_loc> Thanks
Technical SEO | | Tug-Agency0 -
Duplicate XML sitemaps - 404 or leave alone?
We switched over from our standard XML sitemap to a sitemap index. Our old sitemap was called sitemap.xml and the new one is sitemapindex.xml. In Webmaster Tools it still shows the old sitemap.xml as valid. Also when you land on our sitemap.xml it will display the sitemap index, when really the index lives on sitemapindex.xml. The reason you can see the sitemap on both URLs is because this is set from the sitemap plugin. So the question is, should we change the plugin setting to let the old sitemap.xml 404, or should we allow the new sitemap index to be accessed on both URLs?
Technical SEO | | Hakkasan0