If you want to know how search engines find and index the pages on your website, sitemaps are how. A sitemap helps search engines see which pages exist on your site and how those pages are organized within your overall structure. It also makes it easier for search engines to find new pages or updates to existing content.
Many business owners have heard the word “sitemap.” But not many know what a sitemap is, let alone that there are different types of sitemaps. Below, this SEO agency in Chicago, Illinois is going to explain sitemaps and how to choose the right type for your website.
What is a sitemap?
A sitemap is a file or webpage that gives search engines an overview of your website’s content and structure. Search engines can use a sitemap to find important URLs faster. They don’t have to rely exclusively on internal and external links.
Sitemaps are most useful for sites that publish new content or updates on a regular basis. They can also be valuable for newer websites that do not yet have many backlinks. Some sitemaps even include update-related information that helps search engines prioritize which pages they should crawl first.
Are sitemaps important for SEO?
Now that you understand what a sitemap is, you should be able to easily recognize its value in SEO. Sitemaps help search engines find and crawl your website more efficiently by giving them a list of important pages to review. This makes it more likely that search engines will index your content accurately.
Sitemaps can also improve how fast search engines notice changes to your site. This is because it can signal changes as soon as you publish new content or update existing pages. This can be especially important for time-sensitive pages like promotions or service updates.
Using sitemaps even improves your website’s coverage. Search engines can struggle to find some pages through internal links alone. A sitemap helps them easily find those pages and consider them for indexing.
Which sitemap types should you use?
Now that you know the importance of sitemaps, you must choose the right type for your website. The most common type of sitemap is the XML sitemap and it is made exclusively for search engines. It lists your site’s URLs in a structured format that search engines can easily process.
An XML sitemap can also include information about when a page was last updated. This allows search engines to crawl your content more efficiently and focus on recent changes. Because of their importance, any reputable SEO agency in Chicago, Illinois, will use XML sitemaps as a foundational part of technical SEO.
Another type of sitemap is the HTML sitemap. HTML sitemaps are made for users and they are displayed as navigable pages on your website. An HTML sitemap helps visitors find important pages more easily, which is especially useful on websites with multiple pages or complicated site structures. It can also support SEO indirectly by improving internal linking and user experience.
Some websites benefit from specialized sitemaps in specific situations. These can include image sitemaps, video sitemaps, news sitemaps, blog/article sitemaps, product sitemaps for eCommerce stores and more. Sites that use those specific content formats are generally the only ones that need these sitemaps.
An experienced SEO agency in Chicago, Illinois, can determine the types of sitemaps that will best support your search visibility. They make this decision by reviewing your site’s structure, content formats, update frequency, internal linking and indexation data. Your overall marketing and SEO goals also guide their decision. This is how a professional agency makes sure that search engines can crawl and index your most important pages efficiently.
Looking for an SEO agency in Chicago, Illinois?
Are you looking for a professional SEO agency in Chicago, Illinois that can manage every aspect of technical SEO, including sitemap optimization, as part of a complete search strategy? If so, look no further than Digital Destination LLC. Our experienced SEO team specializes in on-site and technical SEO and will make sure that search engines properly crawl and rank your website. Contact us at (312) 933-6806 to schedule a free consultation.