SEO - Sitemap Files

"That's the trouble, girls. You can't keep a map in your heads." - Peter Pevensie, the Chronicle of Narnia: Prince Caspian

"That's because our heads have something in them", said Lucy. Maps aren't meant to be stored in our heads, but they are intended to provide direction and a purpose. In this manner, maps provided to search engines can help the engine provide direction about your site, called a sitemap file.

sitemap starters

Sitemap needs to be defined using the XML protocol. Thus the first line defines the xml version and locale.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>

The second line is mandatory and defines the current version.

<urlset xmlns="http://www.sitemaps.org/schemas/sitemap/0.9">

after that everything follows a similar pattern of defining the url by loc (location), lastmod (modification date), changefreq (how often you expect this page to change, and priority of the page from 0 to 1.0

<url>
<loc>http://www.vacationtours.com/</loc>
<lastmod>2009-09-14</lastmod>
<changefreq>weekly</changefreq>
<priority>0.8</priority>
</url>

You need to do this for each page on your site, such as this example.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<urlset xmlns="http://www.sitemaps.org/schemas/sitemap/0.9">
<url>
<loc>http://www.vacationtours.com/</loc>
<lastmod>2009-09-14</lastmod>
<changefreq>weekly</changefreq>
<priority>0.8</priority>
</url>
<url>
<loc>http://www.vacationtours.com/partners.html</loc>
<lastmod>2009-09-14</lastmod>
<changefreq>weekly</changefreq>
<priority>0.2</priority>
</url>
<url>
<loc>http://www.vacationtours.com/specials.html</loc>
<lastmod>2009-09-14</lastmod>
<changefreq>daily</changefreq>
<priority>0.9</priority>
</url>
<url>
<loc>http://www.vacationtours.com/cancun.html</loc>
<lastmod>2009-09-14</lastmod>
<changefreq>monthly</changefreq>
<priority>0.2</priority>
</url>
<url>
<loc>http://www.vacationtours.com/las_vegas.html</loc>
<lastmod>2009-09-14</lastmod>
<changefreq>monthly</changefreq>
<priority>0.2</priority>
</url>
<url>
<loc>http://www.vacationtours.com/ski.html</loc>
<lastmod>2009-09-14</lastmod>
<changefreq>monthly</changefreq>
<priority>0.4</priority>
</url>
<url>
<loc>http://www.vacationtours.com/adventure.html</loc>
<lastmod>2009-09-14</lastmod>
<changefreq>monthly</changefreq>
<priority>0.4</priority>
</url>
<url>
<loc>http://www.vacationtours.com/adventure/camping.html</loc>
<lastmod>2009-09-14</lastmod>
<changefreq>monthly</changefreq>
<priority>0.2</priority>
</url>
<url>
<loc>http://www.vacationtours.com/adventure/activities.html</loc>
<lastmod>2009-09-14</lastmod>
<changefreq>monthly</changefreq>
<priority>0.2</priority>
</url>
<url>
<loc>http://www.vacationtours.com/adventure/guide.html</loc>
<lastmod>2009-09-14</lastmod>
<changefreq>monthly</changefreq>
<priority>0.2</priority>
</url>
<url>
<loc>http://www.vacationtours.com/adventure/campingwkids.html</loc>
<lastmod>2009-09-14</lastmod>
<changefreq>never</changefreq>
<priority>0.2</priority>
</url>
<url>
<loc>http://www.vacationtours.com/adventure/deals.html</loc>
<lastmod>2009-09-14</lastmod>
<changefreq>weekly</changefreq>
<priority>0.5</priority>
</url>
<url>
<loc>http://www.vacationtours.com/vegas_cansinos.html</loc>
<lastmod>2009-09-14</lastmod>
<changefreq>monthly</changefreq>
<priority>0.2</priority>
</url>
<url>
<loc>http://www.vacationtours.com/vegas_activities.html</loc>
<lastmod>2009-09-14</lastmod>
<changefreq>monthly</changefreq>
<priority>0.2</priority>
</url>
<url>
<loc>http://www.vacationtours.com/vegas_guide.html</loc>
<lastmod>2009-09-14</lastmod>
<changefreq>monthly</changefreq>
<priority>0.2</priority>
</url>
<url>
<loc>http://www.vacationtours.com/vegas_deals.html</loc>
<lastmod>2009-09-14</lastmod>
<changefreq>weekly</changefreq>
<priority>0.2</priority>
</url>
<url>
<loc>http://www.vacationtours.com/about.html</loc>
<lastmod>2009-09-14</lastmod>
<changefreq>yearly</changefreq>
<priority>0.2</priority>
</url>
</urlset>

Now you need to submit the site to Google through your previously set up webmaster tools. Select your site, then the more options under Sitemaps heading. You will see an option like the following image to upload your sitemap.


After you Submit a Sitemap, check back to make sure the status has changed to a check mark from a clock. And make sure the number of url submitted matches the number on your site.

Now your site should soon be getting crawls. The nice thing about the sitemap is you can use it as a master document for planning purposes. Make sure you update it on changes to your site.