A Web sitemap is generally an XML-based document that helps search engines more easily discover and index pages or posts on your website. A sitemap lists all of your site's URLs and contains metadata about each one. You can submit your sitemap to various search engines, such as Google and Yahoo, to inform them of your site and increase indexing rates or decrease initial time to get indexed. A sitemap does not guarantee your site will show in search engines and does not determine ranking, though.
Instructions
Using XML-Sitemaps.com
1. Access XML-Sitemaps.com (see Resources).
2. Enter the URL of your website in the "Starting URL" section of the page.
3. Set your change frequency using the drop-down menu. This is the estimated time between content changes on your site. If you publish a lot of content you may want to set it as "Always, Hourly or Daily."
4. Set your last modified date and time. This would be the last time you published something on your site. If your site is new, this would be the date and time your site went live.
5. Select your "Priority" from the Priority drop-down menu. It is recommended that you set it to "Automatic Priority." This will automatically determine the priority of various pages.
6. Click "Start" at the bottom. Wait for your sitemap to be created. Large sites may take awhile.
7. Select the format in which you wish to download your new Web sitemap. Download and save the file to your computer, then upload it to your website using your preferred FTP access method.
Using AuditMyPC.com
8. Access AuditMyPC.com's sitemap generator (see Resources). Make sure you are on the "Settings" tab at the top of the interface when it opens.
9. Enter the URL of your website in the "URL" section of the page. You can leave the Project Title set as the default.
10. Type in any page filters you may need. If this section is left blank, all pages and addresses will be indexed.
11. Leave the "Rules" section at its default settings. This will provide with the most complete sitemap.
12. Make sure "Add Skipped Links to the Sitemap" is not checked and click the "Play" button at the bottom of the interface on the left-hand side. Wait for your sitemap to be created.
13. Click the "Sitemap" tab at the top of the interface.
14. Click "Export" in the secondary navigation at the top left of the interface and select the type of sitemap you need. XML sitemaps are generally the most accepted by search engines.
15. Select a location on your computer to save the file, retitle it if necessary and click "Save" at the bottom of the Save window. You can now upload it to your website using your preferred FTP access method.
Using SitemapDoc.com
16. Access SitemapDoc.com (see Resources). Make sure you are on the "Create New Sitemap" tab at the top.
17.Enter the root URL of your website in the "URL to Map" field in the middle, left of the page.
18. Select if you also want an HTML version of the Sitemap created. Click "Create Sitemap." Wait for your sitemap to be created.
19. Unselect any pages you do not want included, have errors or were not found. Set your last modified date, change frequency and priority for each page or leave the defaults (this will depend on how and when you want search engines to index your material and how frequently you want them to know you are changing content).
20. Click "XML Sitemap" above where the entries are listed. Highlight all the code shown from "
21. Open Notepad or your other code editing software and paste the copied code from Step 5 by pressing "Control" and "V" on your keyboard. Save your sitemap to your computer. Make sure to title it something easy.
22. Upload it to your website using your preferred FTP access method. Remember to place it in your root folder.
Tags: your site, your website, your sitemap, search engines, Make sure