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![]() ![]() ![]() K: First, I will like to describe what an HTML Sitemap is all about. This takes us up to number two when an XML sitemap generates an unsupported HTML format error. This defeats the purpose of having an XML sitemap in the first place.ĭ: So if you keep ineligible URLs incorporated in your XML sitemap, then eventually Google will just ignore your XML sitemap, or perhaps not even trust your whole website as being as authoritative. And Google has mentioned that if they fail to crawl the sitemap after several attempts, they will eventually stop trying. This is a problem because instead of crawling your valid pages, search engines are wasting time trying to access your heavily redirected content or pages they shouldn't be going to. So when you make new pages on your website, it doesn't reflect on the sitemap. Another reason why this comes up is that maybe you created an XML sitemap that doesn't update automatically, it's static. This usually comes up in the case where you likely created a sitemap manually and somehow these error pages made it into the file. Maybe they are blocked by robots.txt, or they have a noindex tag, or they are being redirected. K: Yes, and by ineligible URLs, I mean URLs that generated a 404 error code. Starting off with number one, listing ineligible URLs. So today, you're sharing the four common issues with XML sitemaps. But in most cases, 1000 pages or more could be fine.ĭ: It's great to have definitive numbers to focus on there. K: Google documentation recommends 500 pages or more, the opposite of a smaller website. Do you have a certain number of pages in mind where if a site has over a certain number of pages then it's a good idea to use an XML sitemap? But I'll come back to this one.ĭ: Great, now you said for larger sites. The second benefit to having an XML sitemap is it helps in troubleshooting SEO issues, particularly indexing issues. It’s like saying to Google, "Hey, I have these really cool pages that I think should be indexed. It’s more like a hint, a clue, to search engines. But if you're dealing with larger websites, where you have content that changes frequently, poor internal linking structures, and orphaned pages, then having a sitemap makes sense because it can help search engines to find your important pages.īut I'd also like to mention that having an XML sitemap doesn't guarantee indexing. ![]() If you're dealing with a smaller website that has 500 pages or less, a good internal linking structure, and pages that don't change frequently, then having an XML sitemap is not your priority in this case. For one, it helps search engines find your important pages. For me, there are two main benefits to having an XML sitemap. So Katherine, why are XML sitemaps so important?
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