Sitemap help

[BR7]

Hi,I researched and I just want to make sure I have this right. I updated every page in my website so I need to make a new sitemap. I Got the sitemap from http://www.xml-sitemaps.com/ . Go to my public_html folder in cPanel and delete the old sitemap. Upload the new sitemap xml file. Then place a text link xml http://www.YourDomain.com/sitemap.xml on just my index page . Are these steps correct? Thanks for your help.

[Vasili]

Yes ... almost!

As you can see by using my Signature link below to see examples on some of my sites, I've properly added the text link "XML" in the footer at the bottom of all my pages - not just the index page as some misguided few think is satisfactory (it's not!), and I've covered the link with a transparent Shape to make it unaccessible to visitors.

* Just as your Navigation is on each page and thus contributes to the overall Relevancy construct, so too the Sitemap link needs be on each page that has been mapped in order to "complete" the actual referencing and assert the compliance. Those that think the Sitemap link is only necessary on the Index page are not following the standards established in April 2010 and which are still used today.

Be sure to change "YourDomain.com" to your actual Domain name > > http://www.dempskimasonry.com/sitemap.xml

[BR7]

Hi, I added a link to my xml sitemap to all of my pages. My text link is in lower case letters . I noticed that all of the examples on this forum the text link is upper case (XML) . I doubt that this makes a difference but I thought that I better ask. Should I change it and republish all of the pages? Thanks for the help

[Vasili]

Hi, I added a link to my xml sitemap to all of my pages. My text link is in lower case letters . I noticed that all of the examples on this forum the text link is upper case (XML) . I doubt that this makes a difference but I thought that I better ask. Should I change it and republish all of the pages? Thanks for the help

You decide: It is a "cosmetic" issue only, and does not impact anything with regard to function or optimization valuation. Depends on how much detail, professionalism and design continuity you wish to present, since BlueVoda makes correcting and re-publishing a site with less than 50 pages a breeze.

PS: If it were me, I would:
1. change it to all capitals;
2. make it the same size as the other footer text, and align it similarly;
3. add/change/configure Hyperlink Styles to make it be the same color as the rest of your Footer text, as it is "protected" and unaccessible to Visitors, so it will always stick out like a sore thumb if not the same color as the other text ....

[BR7]

Thanks for the helpVasili , I just have two more questions. When I generated my sitemap at http://www.xml-sitemaps.com/. In the priority option I choose "none". I feel that since I changed a lot of content on every page that they all should have equal priority.
Is my thinking right with this? I generated a sitemap with the "Automatically Calculated Priority" selected but it had 5 of my pages with .80 priority and the rest with .64 priority. But like I said I think they should have the same priority.
Let me know if this is ok.
Also, Is it necessary to submit my sitemap to Bing and Yahoo? Thanks for the help. Brin

[Vasili]

It is best to not change "Priority" from the Default when creating a Sitemap, either initially or after updates (after pages or Content is added), for most sites do not demonstrate the dynamic activity that such a change is intended: the Default priority is once a month, or simply left to "regular cycle" of the Search Engines to visit and cache/re-cache the site normally.

Some foundations such as Wordpress automatically emphasize a more aggressive "Priority" setting (such as weekly), but that is based upon the naturally increased activity that Blogs experience. As more and more people use CMS like Wordpress to create websites that are not typically a Blog format, there is also the pressing need to reset the Priority within the coding back to a more justified Default of once a month or "Regular Cycle" lest the Search Engines flag the Domain and Site as not worthy of such instructions based on the "static" nature of the Site overall.

And, no .... you do not "submit" your sitemap to any Search Engines: a Sitemap is a permanent set of instructions for any SE, Bot, or Spider to Identify and Follow all the Navigational structure of the site itself -- so they do not "miss" a page or item that needs contribute to the SE overall Relevancy Valuations. They are created to simply be an element of the Site Structure itself - there to be found and obeyed by the Search Engines, Bots, Spiders and other digital visitors. They all look for these files first, so there is no need to promote them otherwise.

Sitemaps are supported with distinctive Rules and instructions by having a "robots.txt" file present as well, as the robots.txt file specifically protect pages, images, or other objects from being "seen" and/or included in any cache or indexing. If there are any pages, images, or other objects you do not want to be "seen" on the internet, you should create and publish a "robots.txt" file as well!

What, then, do you submit to the Search Engines?
With this amplified understanding about how the Sitemap.xml file works, and how a robots.txt file can be important also, there is a more reasonable conclusion that submitting your Domain Name to individual Search Engines is a much less effective strategy than it was in decades past, as any Search Engine that is of any importance will in fact visit, cache, index, and value the site uninvited in due time. In fact, it has been shown that submission of Domains to Search Engines actually creates a much more prejudicial perspective in the Search engine's view of the site, as they tend to create the cache with much more scrutiny upon Relevancy (or lack thereof) in an effort to dispel being "compelled" to visit "off-cycle" and most sites are barely demonstrating proper optimization and Relevancy construct so they are more likely to suffer SERP (Search Engine Results Page) ranking and status. It is, therefore (IMO), simply a waste of time and/or money to submit your Domain name (site) to the Search Engines thinking it will benefit you significantly: the Search Engines do their job best without being told what to do, and the time and money spent on catching their attention is better invested by creating the perfected Site Construct and Site Relevancy that is core to what the Search Engines are looking to evaluate and find instance to esteem and attribute the so desired Rank!