What Is a Sitemap? How to Create in Blogger or WordPress

What is sitemap and how to create it in blogger or wordpress, step by step guide to create sitemap in blogger and add it to google search console.

A sitemap is a structured list of all the pages and content on a website, organized in a hierarchical manner. It helps search engines and visitors navigate through a website’s content easily. Sitemaps can be in XML format for search engines or HTML format for human visitors. Here’s why sitemaps are important:

  • Search Engine Crawling: Sitemaps assist search engine crawlers in understanding the structure of your website and indexing pages more efficiently.
  • Discoverability: It ensures that all important pages on your website are discoverable, including those with complex navigation or limited internal links.
  • Page Priority: Sitemaps allow you to assign priority levels to different pages, indicating their significance in relation to each other.
  • Fresh Content: When you update or add new content, a sitemap helps search engines find it quickly, improving the speed of indexing.
  • Error Identification: Broken links or inaccessible pages can be identified through sitemaps, enabling you to rectify issues promptly.
  • Enhanced User Experience: For visitors, an HTML sitemap acts as a navigation aid, helping them find relevant content easily.
  • Indexing Non-HTML Content: Sitemaps can include various types of content like images, videos, and more, aiding their visibility in search results.
  • Large Websites: Especially beneficial for large websites with many pages, as it ensures that none of your content gets left out during crawling.
  • SEO Optimization: Using sitemaps in conjunction with SEO strategies can lead to better rankings and visibility in search engine results.
  • Crawl Frequency Control: Sitemaps allow you to indicate the last modification date of a page, influencing how often search engines re-crawl it.

In essence, sitemaps are an essential tool that improves your website’s search engine visibility, user experience, and overall performance.

If you’re a Blogger or Blogspot user, creating a sitemap can greatly benefit your site’s visibility in search engine results. In this article, we’ll walk you through the process of generating a sitemap for your Blogger or Blogspot website.

Step-by-step process to add sitemap in Blogger or blogspot

Step 1: Sign in to Your Blogger Account Start by logging into your Blogger account. This will give you access to your blog’s dashboard and the necessary tools to create a sitemap.

Step 2: Access the Settings In your Blogger dashboard, locate and click on the “Settings” option for the blog you want to generate a sitemap for.

Step 3: Navigate to the Crawlers and indexing Within the “Settings” section

Step 4: Enable Custom Robots.txt Scroll down until you find the “Custom robots.txt” section. Here, you’ll want to enable custom robots.txt content. This allows you to control how search engines crawl and index your site.

Step 5: Add Sitemap URL Once you’ve enabled custom robots.txt, you’ll see a text box where you can enter specific commands. In this box, type the following line:

Free SiteMap code for Blogger or Blogspot

User-agent: *
Disallow: /search
Allow: /

Sitemap: https://your-blog-url.blogspot.com/atom.xml?redirect=false&start-index=1&max-results=500

Replace “your-blog-url” with your actual blog URL. This URL will point to your blog’s Atom feed, which is a great way to create a sitemap.

Step 6: Save Changes After entering the sitemap URL, click on the “Save Changes” button. This will update your blog’s robots.txt file to include the sitemap information.

Step 7: Submit Your Sitemap to Google Search Console To ensure that Google indexes your sitemap correctly, go to Google Search Console (formerly Webmaster Tools) and add your blog property. Then, submit the sitemap URL you added in the previous steps. This will help Google recognize and index your sitemap.

Step by Step process to add Sitemap to Google Search Console in blogger

  1. Sign in to Google Search Console using your Google account.
  2. Click on your property (website) to access the property dashboard.
  3. In the left-hand menu, click on “Sitemaps” under the “Index” section.
  4. Click on the “Add a new sitemap” button.
  5. Enter the URL of your sitemap (atom.xml) and click “Submit.” be aware that website URL is already added and you just need to add the atom.xml

Step 8: Test and Monitor It’s important to test your sitemap to ensure it’s working as intended. There are online tools available that allow you to validate your sitemap and identify any issues. Additionally, regularly check Google Search Console for any updates on the status of your sitemap.

Generating a sitemap in Blogger and Blogspot is a straightforward process that can significantly improve your website’s visibility in search engine results. By following these steps and submitting your sitemap to Google Search Console, you’re taking a proactive step toward ensuring your content is properly indexed and accessible to users searching for topics related to your blog.

How to Generate Sitemap in WordPress using Yoast SEO plugin

Step 1: Install and Activate a Sitemap Plugin WordPress offers several plugins that simplify the process of creating and managing a sitemap. One popular option is the “Yoast SEO” plugin. To get started, go to your WordPress dashboard, navigate to “Plugins,” click on “Add New,” search for “Yoast SEO,” and install and activate the plugin.

Step 2: Configure the Yoast SEO Plugin After activating the Yoast SEO plugin, you’ll find a new menu item called “SEO” in your dashboard. Click on “SEO” and then “General.” Navigate to the “Features” tab and ensure that the “XML Sitemaps” feature is enabled. Save your changes.

Step 3: Generate Your Sitemap Once the XML Sitemaps feature is enabled, the Yoast SEO plugin will automatically generate a sitemap for your website. You can access your sitemap by clicking on the “XML Sitemaps” option within the “SEO” menu. This will display the URL of your sitemap.

Step 4: Add Sitemap to Google Search Console Now that you have your sitemap URL, it’s time to add it to Google Search Console.

  1. Sign in to Google Search Console using your Google account.
  2. Click on your property (website) to access the property dashboard.
  3. In the left-hand menu, click on “Sitemaps” under the “Index” section.
  4. Click on the “Add a new sitemap” button.
  5. Enter the URL of your sitemap (e.g., https://yourwebsite.com/sitemap_index.xml) and click “Submit.”

Step 5: Test and Monitor After submitting your sitemap, Google will start crawling and indexing your website’s content based on the sitemap information. You can monitor the progress by checking the “Coverage” report in Google Search Console. Look for any errors or issues that might be affecting the indexing process.

Step 6: Keep Your Sitemap Updated As you create new content and update your website, your sitemap needs to reflect these changes. Fortunately, with the Yoast SEO plugin, your sitemap will be automatically updated whenever you publish or update posts or pages on your WordPress site.

How to Generate Sitemap in WordPress using Rank Math plugin

Step 1: Install and Activate Rank Math Plugin Begin by logging into your WordPress dashboard. Navigate to the “Plugins” section, click on “Add New,” and search for “Rank Math.” Install and activate the Rank Math plugin.

Step 2: Set Up Rank Math Upon activation, Rank Math will guide you through a setup wizard. Follow the prompts to configure the plugin settings according to your website’s requirements. This includes selecting your preferred SEO settings, adding your business information, and more.

Step 3: Enable XML Sitemap Functionality After completing the setup wizard, Rank Math will prompt you to enable its XML sitemap functionality. Simply follow the on-screen instructions to activate the XML sitemap feature.

Step 4: Configure Sitemap Settings Once the XML sitemap feature is enabled, go to the Rank Math dashboard by clicking on “Rank Math” in your WordPress sidebar. From there, navigate to “General Settings” and then “Sitemap Settings.”

Here, you’ll have the opportunity to customize various aspects of your sitemap, including post types, taxonomies, and exclusion settings. Make sure to review and adjust these settings according to your website’s structure and content.

Step 5: Generate Your Sitemap With the settings configured, Rank Math will automatically generate your sitemap. To access it, simply click on the “Sitemap” option within the Rank Math dashboard.

Step 6: Submit Sitemap to Google Search Console Now that you have your sitemap generated, it’s time to submit it to Google Search Console for indexing.

  1. Log in to your Google Search Console account.
  2. Select your property (website) from the dashboard.
  3. In the left-hand menu, click on “Sitemaps” under the “Index” section.
  4. Click on the “Add a new sitemap” button.
  5. Enter the URL of your sitemap, usually in the format of https://yourwebsite.com/sitemap_index.xml, and click “Submit.”

Step 7: Monitor Sitemap Performance After submitting your sitemap, Google will start crawling and indexing your website’s content based on the sitemap information. Regularly check the Google Search Console’s “Coverage” report to identify any issues or errors affecting the indexing process.

Both Yoast SEO and Rank Math plugins offer valuable features for website optimization. Yoast’s user-friendly interface suits those who prefer simplicity, while Rank Math’s customization appeals to advanced users. Both streamline content analysis, meta tags, and XML sitemaps. Your choice depends on expertise and site complexity. Remember, regardless of the plugin, quality content, keywords, backlinks, and responsive design are key. Combined with these plugins, you can enhance SEO, elevate rankings, and drive organic traffic to your site. Choose the plugin that aligns with your needs to boost your website’s performance effectively.

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