Do I really need a site map?

Star · #1 (**permalink**) 03-02-2008, 01:34 PM

Hi Guys

Should I have a site map and if so what are the advantages to me?
Do the spiders like the site maps and why?

Thanks in advance!

lisa · #2 (**permalink**) 03-02-2008, 02:24 PM

While there is no solid proof sitemaps help your rankings but they DO help your new pages get indexed faster. So why not use them?

Here's my theory. Any time a site or engine that can bring in hundreds of targeted traffic allows you to create a file to let them find your content easier? Why wouldn't you want to use it? It certainly is not going to hurt anything.

MentalClinic · #3 (**permalink**) 03-02-2008, 02:34 PM

In my experience new content gets indexed instantly anyway :S Or at least in few minutes as far as I've checked it.. It's probably Wordpress update service (Ping-o-Matic.. although it shouldn't even ping Google or any search engines, only blog dirs.), but I really wouldn't find a reason why I should add a sitemap to my site. For people it is easier to simply search than look trough sitemap and I really don't think sitemap will help with rank, it would probably consider it a "Link only" page and make it worse if anything.

Maybe because my site is still very new Google monitors it more often, thus making page indexing faster. It might change in future. Google is a weird.. pet.

KevinCamon · #4 (**permalink**) 03-02-2008, 02:56 PM

Quick question,

I just had a thought. Let's say that I have a website with 100 pages of content. They are all indexed. Now let's say that I change something different on the pages every week. Do the get indexed all over again and if so, is it beneficial?

KevinCamon

lisa · #5 (**permalink**) 03-02-2008, 04:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KevinCamon

Quick question,

I just had a thought. Let's say that I have a website with 100 pages of content. They are all indexed. Now let's say that I change something different on the pages every week. Do the get indexed all over again and if so, is it beneficial?

KevinCamon

All engines have different "spidering habits", but the thinking is, the more you update your pages, the more often the spiders will visit. And if all your pages are linked together, the engines will eventually pick up your updates.

A site that is constantly updated is always a good thing.

wendy · #6 (**permalink**) 07-24-2008, 10:05 AM

i have just added one to my forum although i know very little about them other than they help index the pages on your site.
it is now pending on my google webmaster tools but i have no idea what to expect once its gone through

is this something that works behind the scenes or is there somewhere where we can see whats going on with the map ? i really havent got a clue about these things, any help welcomed.
thankyou xxx

wendy · #7 (**permalink**) 07-24-2008, 10:15 AM

can anybody advise me on this please

Sitemap summary
Property Status
Sitemap type Web
Format –
Submitted 37 minutes ago
Last downloaded by Google 35 minutes ago
Status Errors
Total URLs in Sitemap 0

Sitemap errors and warnings
Line Status Details
- General HTTP error: 404 not found
We encountered an error while trying to access your Sitemap. Please ensure your Sitemap follows our guidelines and can be accessed at the location you provided and then resubmit.

Bud · #8 (**permalink**) 03-18-2009, 03:19 AM

There are two types of site maps. One is to provide to search engines to help them crawl your site. The other is one to put on your site to help your site visitors find things on your site. I used the Google Sitemap generator to develop one for search engines & submitted it to several search engines. It got my site indexed in a few hours. It also allows you to identify the most important pages to be indexed. I think that helped some concerning which pages got indexed.

micoblanco · #9 (**permalink**) 03-18-2009, 05:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Star

...Should I have a site map and if so what are the advantages to me?

Well, sitemap can play an important role in your site getting properly index by search engines. It can inform search engines that you've made some changes/updates with your site/blog. I mean, sitemap can give you more search engine visibility. And in terms of Internet users, sitemap can provide them the information regarding your site's navigation because sitemap contains you site's URL.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Star

Do the spiders like the site maps and why?

Well, I guess yes. Some webmasters and SEOs said that spiders hate large sitemaps or those sitemaps with tons of URL. For me, there's another option for that, we can divide large sitemaps into smaller ones.

Sound good? hehe

James · #10 (**permalink**) 03-18-2009, 12:31 PM

In fact, doesn't google suggest that somewhere? If I am not mistaken I recall reading that somewhere in their recommendations pages.

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