How To Boost Indexation Using XML and XHTML Sitemaps

Recently I discovered an awesome blog that I had stumbled on a few times in the past. Most of you may know the author for his brilliant design work with blogs or maybe for his talented video production and teaching skills. Either way, Chris Pearson from Pearsonified.com has gained me as a reader, and it his him who gave me the following tips on better indexation in Google.

Communication is the key to any relationship. There’s no “I” in “Team”, and so talking to your spouse, business partner or football goalkeeper is vital for success. In the same way, in order to nurture a website teeming with success its necessary that you network properly with the one being that can make or break your internet glory – the Googlemeister.

So how can I form this bond with the master?
It’s simple and there are 2 main ways to do so, each giving you that extra bit of love that should boost your rankings and drive more traffic to your site.

1. Add an XML Sitemap

With WordPress, adding an XML map of your masses of pages couldn’t be easier. These days there are plugins for just about everything you could ever wish for. So of course, you won’t be surprised to hear that the Google Sitemap Generator is your key to solving the puzzle.

All the normal procedures apply – Download the plugin, Unzip it, Upload the contents to your Plugins directory then Activate the Plugin in your Admin section. The sitemap will then be on autopilot, pinging MSN, Yahoo and the G-Daddy periodically so they can stay up-to-date with your ever expanding online presence. For the best effects, I link to my XML Sitemap in my footer just for that extra peace of mind.

2. Add an XHTML Sitemap

This second phase of SEO is a tad harder to complete but none-the-less the results are great, especially for you webmasters who sites are cluttered with a mass of information and whose Archives are a disgrace. The XHTML map will serve up a page which will contain links to every single page you’ve ever created – neat huh!

To save me from repeating everything that Mr Pearson says, go and check out his post on Using XHTML Sitemaps for Better Indexing. In it he shows you how to download the plugin (yet another one!), and how to style the HTML page that results from using it to suit your sites look and feel.

Again, by linking to this sitemap it will help Google to journey through your whole site which then should get picked up by the bots and slapped onto the search engine for browsers to enjoy.

I hope this information helps your site to compete even more in the world of SEO – and if you’ve got any more tips or hints on better indexation – let me know through commenting!