Get Google`s Attention: How to Submit Your Sitemap - Sitemap Types
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Every Web site has a sitemap that’s automatically generated by the mere existence of pages. Even if your site is a single page, you still have a sitemap to index that page. Access your HTML-based file manager and you’ll see this sitemap, after a fashion.
The type of sitemaps that Google accepts, however, are a little bit different. How do you know if your sitemap is ready for submission, and how can you get it ready if it isn’t? That’s where submitting a sitemap could get a little bit tricky.
Google offers resources and options for different types of sitemaps: automatic feeds, text-based files and the Google protocol. Where does your site fit in?
Feeds. If you already have feeds in place on your site, you’re in good shape when it comes to submitting a sitemap to Google. In this case, simply submit the URL of your feed as your sitemap. It’s just that easy to get your site submitted and be sure that Google is getting fresh info from your online pages.
Text files. There’s an extremely simple way to submit a sitemap if you’re not the savviest site designer out there. Even money-making Web sites can be pretty casual affairs, and all this sitemap business could sound like Greek to some online entrepreneurs. If you want to avoid coding, formats and special forms you can always create a text document that will serve nicely (as far as Google is concerned) as your sitemap. First, map a line-by-line list of every single URL on your site. This should looking something like this:
www.myfirstpage.com
www.mysecondpage.com
www.mythirdpage.com
List nothing more than the URLs. You do not need a header, footer or any other sort of text on your document. When you save your file, make sure it uses UTF-8 encoding (this can be enabled with many text programs in the save options). Once the file is complete, upload it to your site. Now, you can submit this to Google and the search engine will be aware of all the addresses attached to your site.
Creating a Sitemap with Google
Want to go a different route? You can always create a sitemap through Google, using their tools and step-by-step instructions to guide you through the process. Creating a sitemap Google will instantly recognize begins with a list of URLs similar to the method described above. You’ll also add some special coding which makes this list readable by Google’s online crawlers. If you’re still having trouble creating a sitemap, turn to Google’s sitemap generator.
Next: Submitting a Sitemap >>
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