Examining the structure of any given website is important for many reasons. This can easily be done by looking for its sitemap. But how do you check a website’s sitemap? What tools can you use, and why is it important?
In this guide, we’ll answer these questions and give a detailed step-by-step process on checking a sitemap site. Whether you are a site owner, SEO professional, or just a person interested in the topic, this article will be useful for you.
Sitemaps: Definitions
A sitemap is a document containing all the pages (users and non-users can access) of a certain website. It facilitates the search engines’ comprehension of the site.
Dept of SEO sitemaps enhance SEO as the best practice for making search algorithms pick up pages. They also carry important meta information related to the website pages, such as the last update of the page and its refresh interval.
Detailed Steps on How to Search for a Sitemap Without Tools
If a sitemap is not available on the homepage, one could try adding /sitemap.xml at the end of the website address to view it manually.
For instance, if the website is ‘www.example.com’, typing ‘www.example.com/sitemap.xml’ in the browser should bring up a sitemap. If there’s a sitemap available on the site, it will be visible.
Not every website makes use of the conventional “sitemap.xml” naming convention or their position on the server. More sitemap indexes than this are also available:
- /sitemap_index.xml
- /sitemap.php
- /sitemap.html
Common Sitemap Filenames and Locations
As observed above, some websites and webpages actually do use a non-standard ‘sitemap.xml’ filename or position for their site’s sitemap. Some websites may apply different names or place their sitemaps in different locations. Some common variations include:
- /sitemap_index.xml
- /sitemap.php
- /sitemap.html
Searching for a Sitemap Through the Robots.txt File
Using a robots.txt file is another method of locating a sitemap. The robots.txt file, accessible by a URL, often links to the sitemap. For instance, one might come across a robots.txt file, and in it, there might be a line that says:
‘Sitemap: http://www.example.com/sitemap.xml’
Tools Usage for Sitemap Checks
Even though manual checking is beneficial, it has certain drawbacks. For instance, it may take a long time, especially for large websites. This is precisely where sitemap checker tools become useful. These tools can efficiently and quickly check a site’s sitemap.
Google Search Console
If you have backend access to a website, the Google Search Console can help you do wonders. This tool allows you to check and experiment with the website’s sitemap on the spot.
Online Sitemap Checkers
Another range of such checking tools is also available on the web. These tools can also check whether the sitemap’s URL is valid, whether its structure is correct, and whether any crawlable resources in the sitemap have errors.
Making Your Own Sitemap
Making a sitemap of a website intended for an individual user is important for search engine optimization. This can be done easily without much hassle through the use of online sitemap generator resources. These tools would crawl your site, prepare the sitemap according to accepted standards, and maybe assist in submitting that catalog to the search engines.
Conclusion and Best Practices
Appreciation of the steps involved in checking a website’s sitemap is one skill that every website owner or marketer should possess. Keeping your sitemap regularly reviewed, checked, and updated will greatly help enhance your website’s SEO aspect.
Lastly, about your sitemap, do not forget to deploy the appropriate tools and adequate ways to promote it.
Wildnet Technologies is a leading digital marketing agency in India. It has helped 4100+ clients with its SEO services by optimizing 25k+ #1 ranked keywords to garner more than USD 196K organic revenue.
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FAQ
Ques1. What is a sitemap?
A sitemap is a file that lists all the important URLs on a website, helping search engines index content more efficiently.
Ques2. How can I manually find the website’s sitemap?
Typically, a sitemap can be found by appending “/sitemap.xml” to the website’s URL (e.g., www.example.com/sitemap.xml).
Ques3. Can I use tools to check a website’s sitemap?
Tools like Google Search Console, Screaming Frog, or online sitemap checker tools can help you find and analyze a website’s sitemap.
Ques4. What should I do if I can’t find the sitemap using the URL?
If “/sitemap.xml” doesn’t work, you can check the website’s robots.txt file by visiting “/robots.txt,” which often lists the sitemap location.
Ques5. Why is it important to check a website’s sitemap?
Checking a sitemap helps ensure that search engines index all important pages properly and can be useful for SEO optimization.
