Does anyone have suggestions for a good XML Sitemap Generator?
-
Does anyone have any suggestions on a good XML Sitemap Generator? Also interested in best practices and tips for updating the XML Sitemap.
I typically have relied on my web developers to do this however it seems that they have not been setting this up with SEO in mind.
-
Google will look for /sitemaps.xml. This is pretty standard.
Some people may not name it that way - not advised. But if you're using the other sitemaps for images, videos, etc, then you can use the robots.txt file to tell search engines where they are explicitly.
Also, be sure to set up an account at http://www.google.com/webmasters/ and submit your sitemaps there.
-
Thanks for the info! I'm working on loading up the xml-sitemaps software now.
What is the purpose of a link to all the sitemaps in a robots.txt file?
-
If you have ftp access to the root, you can simply overwrite the current one with a new one. Google will pick it up.
Also, you should include a link to all your sitemaps in a robots.txt file - also in the root. If you look at SEOMoz's robots.txt file, you can see how to do that. http://www.seomoz.org/robots.txt
-
there is already a sitemap on my server that was generated by my web developers. What is the best practice for overriding an existing site map?
-
Thank you Cyril. Based on my research as well this seems to be a good option. Google webmaster tools also recommends it.
-
Thanks Jbrock!
That really helps to see how yours is set up. My website developer currently has a sitemap set up however I don't think its taking advantage of all the features possible.
-
You can probably set it to ignore parameters you don't want added to the sitemap. Here's a screenshot from my standalone version to give you an idea of the settings.
-
I bought the standalone version of http://www.xml-sitemaps.com/standalone-google-sitemap-generator.html in 2007 or 8 and have really liked it. They've really kept the product updated, but the $19.99 price hasn't changed since.
It gives you a high degree of control, supports really large websites, generates multiple sitemaps (xml, image, video, news, mobile, ror, etc.) and more. Plus, updates are free for life once you purchase.
Use the free generator on the homepage to see how it works.
-
Hey Nathan,
I've used this one in the past <cite>www.xml-sitemaps.com/ </cite>
It works pretty decently for me, but you have to make sure you edit it after its created. Look for pages that no longer exist or are redirected somewhere else. Also make sure you aren't listing any pages with search query's in them, (www.url.com/index.php**?xxxx**) if you use search query's that way.
Updating is just what it is, every time you create a new page on your site, you need to update the site map.
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
What Moz reports would you suggest running when pitching SEO services to a client?
What do you think the best Moz reports are when presenting SEO services to a client? I need to share reports that show where the opportunity is and where we will be prioritizing our effort. I'd like to hear what you would suggest given your experience presenting SEO to clients. Thanks in advance for your help!
Moz Pro | | mrupert1 -
Why might Google be crawling via old sitemap, when the new one has been submitted and verified?
We have recently relaunched Scoutzie.com and re-submitted our new sitemap to Google. When I look on Webmaster tools, our new sitemap has been submitted just fine, but at the same time, Google is finding a lot of 404s when crawling the site. My understanding, it is still using crawling the old links, which do not exists. How can I tell Google to refresh it's index and to stop looking at all the old links?
Moz Pro | | scoutzie0 -
Google Algorithm Update July 30, 2012 - Anyone else notice a major drop in keyword rankings
From July 30th to the 31st many of my keyword rankings in Google plumited 30 spots or more. Has anyone else notice this on their site? Does anyone have any idea for the presumed penalty? I can PM my site information if needed for further assistance. As always thank you for the assistance, and any help in this matter is greatly appreciated!
Moz Pro | | BethA1 -
Did anyone else see "Rel Canonical" drop to zero after their latest SEOmoz crawl?
In the Crawl Diagnostics section of the SEOmoz reports, we get errors in red, warnings in yellow, and notices in blue. After my latest crawl, I saw the "Rel Canonical" part go from about 300 down to 0. Obviously, this isn't right, so I'm wondering if this is a bug that everyone is experiencing. U9W5I
Moz Pro | | UnderRugSwept0 -
Why does the crawl report say I should have meta description and title tags in my xml files?
Just had my first crawl report today which has been very useful in finding missing and duplicated title tags and meta descriptions but it has flagged up the fact that my xml files are missing these. Surely non HTML documents shouldn't have them (or need them) so why are they showing up in the report?
Moz Pro | | PandyLegend0 -
A good Friday Laugh!
A much needed laugh during a stressful Friday found in one of my Crawl Diagnostics Reports - View attached image. seomoz-lol.jpg
Moz Pro | | longbeachjamie1 -
Anyone having problems with the SEOmoz KWD Tool??
Just a quicky: Tried to run keyword difficulty tool reports last couple of days but keep getting error messages regardless of how many words/phrases I request. Is this a general outage or just me? Cheers
Moz Pro | | lovealbatross
James0 -
Feature Suggestions
Along with the current crawl notices (canonical links, 301s, etc) you should add "meta refresh". Those are tricky to catch via the human eye unless you are paying very close attention and they definitely effect your SEO if not done properly. Thoughts?
Moz Pro | | kchandler0