What is a Site Map?

What is a site map?

A site map basically is a page that features or lists the links you have on your web site. This will make it easier for search engines to proceed and spider your web site. It is usually found near the bottom page of a web site.

Why are site maps important?

An HTML site map is important. It should contain the top level pages. In one page, there should be just about the right amount of links in it. The link should not exceed 100 for more favorable views.

There are certain benefits in having a good HTML sitemap. This generally would assure any potential customer to easily navigate the site, find exactly what they came to look for. The site map page will serve as a tool for your visitors. This way they will opt to visit your site more if they can easily browse and find their way in your web site. It can also ensure that your visitors can very well stay in your web site.

Good links will also ensure you that spiders will locate your web site easily each week. This will make your site indexed by the important search engines online. This will also avoid your site from being dropped.

However, HTML site maps may serve more important purpose than merely as another link to click on. The specific purpose you should consider in having a site map is to make it easier for search engine robots to "crawl" in your web site. Pages are located by search engines through "crawling." It is a process that goes through the index of a page, following the links and adding the pages to the database.

The problem would come in when search engines fail to locate the page because links are not that accessible. It is the site map that will address this dilemma. Search engines will be given access to the different links in your web site simply by following the site map in your home page.

Here are seven important pointers in creating your HTML site map.
(1) Get tutorials on how to make your site map. There are available pages online that can give you a step-by-step guide in coming up with a good website.

(2) You can also ensure that your site map looks good, to make it more pleasing to the eye of your visitor and to make navigation easier. You can get ideas for a properly designed site map online too.

(3) Make sure that your site map will provide also the links to the important pages in your web site. This way your visitors will not get lost. At the same time you can ensure that your guests will still be able to get the general idea of your web site structure. It is advisable that you make links as simple as possible.

(4) Make the link to your site map as visible and obvious as possible in your homepage. Visitors should not spend too much time in locating it or else you might end up losing them.

(5) A site map serves more like a table of contents of your website. It should provide all of the different sections of your internet site with all the information and data that may be found in each section.

(6) Each of the contents in your site map must have a hyperlink to its respective URL.

(7) If you will have to give way to numerous links, you can make use of several pages. You could numbers each site-map page or you could also make use of the contents in naming each site-map.

Having an HTML site map will furthermore help you in maximizing traffic to your web site. Just make sure that your homepage as well all the internal pages are properly indexed. Creating a site map will definitely make things more efficient for you. The links to all the pages in your website will be directly connected to your homepage.

Aim high for your internet marketing endeavors. The more links you have to your site, the higher is the possibility of getting a good rank among the major search engines, so don't hesitate to learn the rules of the game and make yourself a sure winner.

Carl Hoffman has over 20 years of sales and marketing experience. He has many online ventures and author of many articles on sales, leadership and marketing.

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