What is a Sitemap?
As its name implies, a sitemap serves as a map of your site, displaying a list of all the pages that exist on a website and their relative level of importance. Sitemaps are provided to search engines in order to index the site’s contents and determine the hierarchy of pages.
Google uses web crawlers to scan websites in order to help inform search results for particular topics. While a sitemap won’t directly boost your search engine ranking, it will make it more likely your site shows up when those topics are searched for. The more information you provide about your site, the better Google can tailor their results to your services.
Sitemaps can be created using two formats. While both formats can be implemented, XML has become increasingly popular due to its ease of customization and the format’s adoption by Google 2005. HTML sitemaps are intended to help humans find their way around your site and are expressed visually. In contrast, XML sitemaps express web pages as simple web links in order to help web crawlers analyze and index the site for size and content.
How Else Are Sitemaps Important?
A sitemap also helps site owners develop a clear vision for how the site will be organized.
While a sitemap isn’t required for a website to operate, it’s an easy step to ensure your site serves its users effectively.
Just a few added benefits of a sitemap include:
- Establishing your site’s purpose
- Organizing content
- Reducing redundant content
Organizing Your Site’s Purpose
Why does your business or organization need a website? It may sound like a simple question, but many businesses don’t think about what they actually want to accomplish with their site. If your answer is something like, “because every other business has a website,” then it’s time to dig a bit deeper.
Are you trying to increase sales? Gain leads? Become an influencer in your field? The answer to the why should be your guiding star toward how you design your site and how you priority the various pages.
A well thought out sitemap allows you to have some control over user interaction with your site. Your site’s purpose should inform which pages and elements you want emphasized, as well as the path you wish users to follow, especially with sites that seek to lead visitors through a sales funnel.
During this stage in development, try and think like your users. Determine the easiest path to get them to where you want them to go. Think of your site as a story and the sitemap the story’s outline, with your goal to get the user to the end of the story.
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