+45 53 83 87 01Sitemap submission is the process of providing a search engine with a sitemap, which is a file that lists all of the important pages of a website. This enables the search engine to intelligently crawl the site. The primary goal of sitemap submission is to improve site discovery and indexing. Webmasters and SEO professionals submit sitemaps through search engine webmaster tools, such as Google Search Console or Bing Webmaster Tools.
Practical steps:
- Create the sitemap: Generate an XML sitemap for your website using a sitemap generator or by using plugins/tools if youre using a CMS like WordPress.
- Ensure accuracy: Verify that the sitemap is up-to-date, error-free, and includes all the pages you want indexed.
- Access webmaster tools: For Google Search Console, verify your site ownership. For other search engines, use their respective tools with a similar verification process.
- Submit the sitemap: Go to the ‘Sitemaps’ section and submit your sitemap URL. Ensure it is accessible and the correct URL is submitted.
- Monitor the status: After submission, regularly check the status in the webmaster tools to ensure it’s been crawled and indexed without issues.
Technical considerations:
- Include only canonical versions of URLs.
- Use proper sitemap syntax as outlined by sitemapprotoocol.org.
- Limit the sitemap size to under 50MB and 50,000 URLs. If your site is larger, use a sitemap index file.
- Update and resubmit your sitemap after major website updates.
Benefits:
Sitemap submission helps search engines quickly find and index your important website content, which can potentially improve your website’s visibility in search results. Search engines such as Google and Bing rely on sitemaps to efficiently discover and crawl all the pages on your website. By submitting a sitemap, you are providing a roadmap for search engine bots to navigate through your site and index your content.
This can ultimately lead to increased visibility in search results, as your website will be more likely to appear in relevant searches. Additionally, a well-organized sitemap can also help improve the overall user experience, making it easier for visitors to find the information they are looking for on your site.
