Search engine optimisation (SEO) involves various components, including on-page optimisation, link building, content creation, and technical SEO. The sitemap is a crucial yet often overlooked area of technical SEO, often harming a website’s ranking and visibility across search engines.  

So, what does a sitemap do? In layman’s terms, a sitemap ensures that search engines notice your website, even if your internal linking strategy is not up to the mark.  

This blog highlights what a sitemap is, the different types of sitemaps, and how you can submit it to Google.  

Let’s start by understanding what a sitemap is.  

What is a Sitemap? 

As the name suggests, a sitemap is essentially your website’s map or blueprint which helps search engines locate, crawl, and index your site’s pages. Additionally, the sitemap also signals to search engines which pages are more important than others, accelerating content discovery.  

Types of Sitemaps

Technically, there are two major types of sitemaps: HTML and XML sitemaps. That said, XML sitemaps are further bifurcated into news, image, and video sitemaps.  

Let’s understand each sitemap type.  

  • HTML Sitemap

An HTML sitemap lists the crucial pages of a website in a structured manner, making it easier for users to locate and navigate the site. One of the most notable characteristics of HTML sitemaps is that they are primarily designed to enhance the user experience, rather than simplifying content discovery across search engines.  

In a nutshell, an HTML sitemap works like the floor plan map we see at airports and shopping malls, guiding them to the pages they are looking for.  

  • XML Sitemap

The XML sitemap is a repository or a file of all the important pages, images, videos, and other types of content on the website. What differentiates XML and HTML sitemaps? XML sitemaps are predominantly created for search engines, allowing them to crawl and index the site’s content efficiently.  

An XML sitemap lays down the website’s structure for search engine bots, helping them locate and prioritise indexation, which eventually improves the site’s SEO performance and search rankings.  

Are you wondering what does an XML sitemap look like? (attach a screenshot here) 

Here are the different types of XML sitemaps.  

Image Sitemap

An image sitemap’s primary function is to list key data related to the images used across the website, including site location (URL), metadata, image titles, etc. The objective of creating an image sitemap is to help search engines understand what the image is, improving their discoverability across search engines.  

 Video Sitemap

Just as an image sitemap aids search engines in understanding the context of images on a website, a video sitemap helps search engines crawl and index videos efficiently. It includes all the important details of videos on the website, including the video’s description, title, URL, and duration.  

News Sitemap

A news sitemap is primarily used by news websites, enabling search engines to easily identify and retrieve news articles. Further, the news sitemap ensures that a news article appears in Google’s “News” section. However, news sitemaps need to adhere to a few guidelines: the sitemap should only include articles published within the last two days and should not contain more than 1,000 URLs.  

Why is a Sitemap Important?

Now that we know a bit about the different types of sitemaps, let’s understand the importance of a sitemap.  

So, why is a sitemap important? 

It is crucial to understand that search engines deploy millions of bots, or website crawlers, that monitor or keep an eye on every page’s layout, and how your site is structured. The primary purpose of installing a sitemap is to help search engines navigate the website with ease and also simplify indexing.  

Further, sitemaps also notify search engines when new changes are implemented to ensure they are indexed correctly.  

Steps to Submit a Sitemap to Google

Learning what a sitemap is, the different types, and its importance is a good start. Now, let’s take a step further and walk through how to submit a sitemap to Google.  

1. Submit in Search Console

You can use the Sitemap report and submit the sitemap in Google’s search console. This enables you to track when website crawlers access your website and identify processing errors.  

2. Search Console API

Alternatively, you can use the Search Console API to submit a sitemap programmatically.  

3. Add XML Code

One of the easiest ways to submit a sitemap to Google is by adding the XML code ‘https://example.com/my_sitemap.xml’  in your robots.txt file. Google’s website crawlers will locate it the next time they crawl your site’s robots.txt file.  

SEO Benefits of Installing a Sitemap

This section highlights the impact and benefits of a sitemap on the website’s SEO. It is worth noting that although sitemaps are not a ranking factor according to Google, they offer a few benefits.  

Content Discovery

With millions of websites out there, search engines could take forever to locate a new site. Luckily, you can accelerate this process by submitting a sitemap. A sitemap lets search engines know your website exists, simplifying and accelerating content discovery and indexation.  

Content Updates

Please note that search engines refer to the <lastmod> tag in a sitemap to assess whether a particular URL was updated since they last crawled over it. This information helps search engines decide whether they want to recrawl the URL.  

Identify Page Errors

A sitemap allows search engines to crawl your website and notify you about various indexation issues including redirect loops, missing pages, and broken links. A sitemap allows you to identify and fix issues that can hamper your site’s SEO.  

Best Practices for Sitemap Optimisation

Here are some of the best practices for sitemap optimisation to ensure seamless website crawlability and SEO performance.  

Add Self Canonical URLs Only

It is important to ensure that your sitemap includes only the preferred URLs to prevent content duplication and ensure seamless and accurate content indexation.  

Install XML Sitemaps for Search Engines, HTML Sitemaps for Users

Establish this: install an XML sitemap for search engines, and an HTML sitemap to improve your website’s user experience (UX).  

Final Words

Let’s clarity that a sitemap is more than just a technical SEO requirement in your SEO checklist: it is a guide for users and search engines that helps them locate relevant website URLs efficiently. Although sitemaps do not have a direct impact on your site’s search engine ranking, they play an important role in indexing web pages and helping search engines understand the site’s structure.  

The best practices for sitemap optimisation mentioned in the blog will help your site crawl and index accurately, improving your site’s content discovery and user experience. Whether you have a blog or an e-commerce website, it is important to install a sitemap to improve visibility across search engines and ensure swift indexing.  

Want better crawlability and indexation? Boost your rankings with our expert SEO services tailored for your website’s technical health. 

What Is Sitemap FAQs

 Do I Need a Sitemap for a Small Website?

Yes, a sitemap is helpful for all types of websites as they simplify and accelerate the site’s discoverability across search engines.  

What Shouldn’t Be Included in a Sitemap?

Duplicate pages, broken links, and non-canonical URLs should not be included in a sitemap.  

How Often Should You Generate a Sitemap?

It is always a good practice to generate a sitemap when you make significant content-related changes.  

What Should Be the Size of a Sitemap?

A sitemap should ideally be under 50 MB and not include more than 50,000 URLs per file.  

Does a Sitemap Affect SEO?

Although a sitemap is not a google ranking factor, it helps search engines crawl and index your content.