What is XML sitemap and what issues it can cause

What is a sitemap?

XML sitemap – is a simple file where a wide range of commands have been written in order to cooperate with the robots of search engines (like Googlebot). It has got a range of functions which promote the page into the top ranks making it easier for the machine to understand the principle of operation of the digital algorithm. What is XML sitemap? – This is a fundamental type of doorway that unites the HTML page with other search engines making it “visible”. The beginning comprehension of the notion is usually the most crucial point to begin with. Go on reading the article to get a better understanding of the misconceptions regarding sitemaps.

Why does your website need it?

First of all, Google likes websites with well-organized structure, it ranks them higher than those who have the bad one. Besides, sitemap is the fastest way Google can estimate and crawl your most important web pages. So webmasters highly advise to create sitemap.xml file and submit it to Google for indexation after it creation. Simply doing by this formula:

Just type in search row and then add your sitemap.xml file to Search Console. It`s a simple step on how to make a sitemap for Google.

Problems you may have due to incorrect sitemap generating:

Search engines will not rank your site correctly by the absence of this file. Theoretically, the robot should independently scan all pages of the website and include them in SERP. However, keep in mind that the system may fail and not find some web documents. Usually, “problematic places” become sections that can only be accessed through a long chain of links, and dynamically generated URLs.

From SEO point of view, a Sitemap has a certain impact, as it speeds up indexing significantly. In addition, it is more likely that web pages will be indexed before competitors have time to copy and publish content. Search engines prefer the original source, while copy-paste is pessimized.

Issue of Indexation

 

During the reading of this article you will get rid of the most popular misconceptions: XML sitemap assists in indexing each address of the website. The program unit does not politely send indexation orders to the system of finding mechanisms. Google does everything on its own accord – it crawls through the website and selects the pages of better quality (as per machine) and indexes them. Sitemaps are not supposed to drag the attention of any type of search system as people are accustomed to thinking.
This is a kind of a filter that is injected into Google Search Console. It synthesizes the notions within the specified algorithm of what should be treated as an appropriate landing page that must undergo the procedure of scanning. Basically, it creates the clues that simply pinpoint the pages which are meaningful for the artificial intellect.

Lack of stability

 

In a wide range of XML sitemap example patterns, a professional can easily detect a simple flaw – they lack stability of message regarding the status of the potentially indexed page that is transferred to the search system. The description of the XML sitemap usually confronts the actions of the meta robots. See the following commands that may lead to confusion.

• “Noindex” – the command meaning that there is no need to index the page as goes from the name of the command.
• “Nofollow” – the page has got no valuable information.
• “Noindex,nofollow,” – this page will be perceived more like a ghost to the system. This is the most frequent issue as it usually impacts the uselessness of the website that should be indexed.

One should be careful enough to check the commands so that they don’t conflict with each other. Putting it simple, all the information should be filtered under two simple parameters:

• Useful pages are filled with the information for online research that have human-oriented information. The writer of the code should use “noindex, follow” order for robots and delete it from XML sitemap.
• Machine landing pages – text that is designated for search machines that have to be taken into consideration to appear in the prime ranks of request results. It should be added to XML file. It is also necessary to place an exception to avoid being banned by robots.

 

General Applicability of the Site

 

One might think that a search mechanism has got some personal parameter or measure, which selects the web pages to promote. If one tries to act like a machine and analyze a 1000 pages website, there will be a noticeable simple correlation. If only 5-6 pages were created for the machine, while other pages were oriented for a person, then this site will not occupy the first ranks in the SERP. One needs to find a balance between the machine oriented and human-oriented texts so that optimization was able to promote it through the website. You can read more SERP definition and features in our guide. 
It would be a wise idea to utilize machine oriented text for the specified pages that do not require human-oriented information and put it down into the XML file. The best choices for landing pages are login sections, comment sections, password recovery and content sharing sections. However, that is not enough, of course. The best option for including into Google indexation is approximately 50% of the content. Basically, it means that more machine oriented pages that are verified by XML file make the site more popular. A flexible adjustment is the key to website promotion.

Issues of Huge Websites

 

The sitemap file is the easiest way to find all pages on a website. People who have got giant websites are afraid to adjust the XML file as they think that each page is manually entered. People with a website of more than 1000 pages find it a real nightmare. Fortunately, it is still another misconception. Static files are old fashioned and are more applicable for some miniature business card websites.

This will be especially effective for the websites with a lot of content types as the sitemap XML example will be capable of discerning among the necessary, useful files and hidden objects that will be helpful for the machine indexation procedure. Each following updated web page will undergo the same scanning procedure as per requirements that were stated in the dynamic file. The dynamic XML file decides if it should be indexed or not according to the originally stated parameters.

Sitemap Checker

Such tools are created to validate sitemap XML and provide you with the information whether it`s located. Moreover, sitemap checker helps to inform about any problems errors before submitting it to Google. You will find out if your website`s XML sitemap allows search engines to see what URLs are available for crawling. After you check and correct all the mistakes you, submit the new sitemap to Google Search Console and ping for recrawling.

 

Conclusion

 

In order to sum up the information that was given regarding the XML peculiarities, we can easily pinpoint the core ideas of the use and hope that future and already existing websites will be easily found and promoted by search systems.

• Always issue the correct commands that will not conflict with each other. The correctness can be verified by sitemap tester. This will preserve the effectiveness of the element of the software.
• For big websites, the dynamic XML file would be of a better efficiency as this item will correlate all the activity and data between the robots, meta robots and search engine.
• In addition, use sitemap checker that was created in order to avoid any discrepancies during the indexation by search systems. Google should realize that it selects the correct options.

If you are passionate about programming and want to realize your most outstanding ideas regarding the successful website, you should never ignore powerful tools that will make your creation visible for a greater number of people. Knowing the principle of how the software works are the core idea that leads to the greatest success and assists in the preservation of the most valuable resource – time. You can read more about programming and what is XHTML at our blog.