Today Mary Gillen advises us why a Web site needs a Google sitemap. Tomorrow, March 31, Mary will post a step-by-step guide for configuring a Google sitemap file yourself.
Google sitemaps...what are they and why do you need one?
A Google sitemap is an Extensible Markup Language (XML) file that informs and directs Google's crawlers to the individual page files on your Web site. It's like a hidden help desk for Google to use.
Imagine that Google's automated crawlers stop by your site, but are confused as to which pages should be considered most important. You can direct these crawlers with a properly-configured sitemap. You can tell 'em where to go, if you excuse the expression. You can also let 'em know how often your content is updated, so the crawlers can "schedule" a return visit...over and over again...as Google is always hungry for new content.
Sitemaps are a must for "long" URLs
If your Web site content is stored in a database, then your Web pages are "dynamically-generated." This means that every time a visitor requests a page from your site, there's programming magic going on in the background that pulls the info from the database and writes the content "on the fly" to the visitor's browser screen. The trouble with a dynamically-generated Web page is that the URL (the long string of words and ? and numbers and stuff that appears in the Address bar of your browser window) that is created takes more time for Google to crawl.
An example
One of my clients, Craft Stop sells craft supplies, paint by number kits, felt stockings and more via an e-commerce application I developed for them. Click on this link, then look in the address bar of your browser window to see an example of a "long" URL. It looks like this:
Don't get me wrong. Google will grab the info from a dynamic page. But it starts huffing and puffing if there is too much information (known as "variables") to the right of the question mark in the dynamic address. There are URLs out there much longer than the one listed above, and Google might be ignoring your site if your dynamically-generated page URL strings go on and on.
Be sitemap saavy
If your site has these long URLs, then a Google sitemap is a must for you. You should include it as part of your plan for optimizing your site for a better search engine ranking...meaning prospects and customers have a better chance of finding you as they use the Google search engine.
Tomorrow, Friday, March 31, I will post the step-by-step process of configuring a Google sitemap. Can't wait? Feeling adventurous? Visit Google's Sitemap FAQ to get started now, if you like.
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