19 Nov
Yesterday I spoke on what exactly a sitemap is when it comes to your website and today I will go into detail on why exactly sitemap’s are truly needed. There are some things that websites do not necessarily need. A sitemap isn’t one. So the question is why exactly is a sitemap needed? A site map is not JUST for users but rather for search engine crawlers.
A crawler aka ‘bots’ if you didn’t know is something the search engines (Google / Yahoo / MSN / Ask / etc) send out on the web and…well, crawl your website. They look for relevant information – keywords / phrases and hundreds of other things. This is why SEO people are in demand (again, feel free to hit me up if you have any questions on it). These bots instead of going through every single page – which can be pretty long depending on the size – while having a sitemap will help speed along the process.
{click to enlarge}
So, why the big deal? Well, as seen to the left you are able to see if your website is ranking high on certain keywords/phrases as well if there are errors that might be found on the site. Google Webmaster allows An error could be something along the lines of a page that was published a year ago and you have deleted it since – it happens.
Why the black out outs?
The last thing I want to show off is one of my projects that is not 100% complete…plus, you never know the competition could be watching.
Nonetheless by being able to view this data it can gain new insights into not just those viewing your website but your customers.
Top Search Queries
How are people finding your site – did they search “niche product” or “product niche”? As simple as it would seem it opens up the doors between you and those finding your website.
Crawl Errors
Is there a problem with how bots are seeing your site? If so, this could be why your site isn’t getting indexed by them.
Links to your site
Whose linking to your site – which content is highly linkable. Helpful for updating your website.
Keywords
You have a niche on say knitting but your site’s keywords aren’t centered around yarn, stitching, and overall knitting. It’s time to change things…NOW!
18 Nov
Well, I’m glad you asked. As I mentioned yesterday I would be diving into sitemaps a little more in-depth this week I thought the best thing to do is explain first what exactly a sitemap really is.
I have always made the analogy that a sitemap of a website is similar to that of a mall map. Stores can come and go and the map is constantly updated like that of a website. It will reference the main points of a website. An example would be under Customer Service you might find Contact Us – Billing Issues – FAQ’s – Online Support – Chat Support – etc…
Below is snapshot of the sitemap for a sports introduction site that’s currently in development:
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Since I use WordPress pretty exclusively I have found a plugin that generates the content into an XML file (.com/sitemap.xml) – this is good news for when you submit your website to search engines. More on that later.
You don’t have to use a “plugin” and can actually create one yourself but then again why recreate the wheel, right?
So, why do you need a sitemap for your website? Well, as I stated earlier it could help a reader figure out where exactly something is. Remember it IS like a map – of your content. This is big for site that end up growing over the years.
The second reason you need to make a sitemap is for search engines and I will dive more into this tomorrow but by having them for web crawlers they are able to crawl your content quicker and index your site.
17 Nov
I don’t know how many times I have to drive this home but I am dead serious about this. If you have a website from a blog to e-commerce you must. MUST have Google Analytics and have you’re sitemap submitted to google (and various other search engines).
These two minor steps will open up huge doors for you and your brand. It will answer the questions:
How are people coming to my site?
- When they come to my site where are they going?
- What is the most popular page?
- What are my site’s keywords/phrases ranking?
- Where am I when it comes to competition?
By allowing yourself to answer these questions you will without a doubt increase your revenue. An example would be finding out what exactly is your most prominent page on your site and then optimizing it so users can see you are offering a new product or link to another portion of your site.
I will be doing a step-by-step on sitemaps this week and start on analytics next week. People need to be made aware of these things.
If you’d like a 1-on-1 feel free to use the contact form and I’d be more than happy to help you out.
09 Nov
It has been quite some time since my last post. Since then I’ve been trying out The Google Wave and so far not too impressed with it. The possibilities I am but as it is still in “PREVIEW” stage still a downer. Too buggy.
Besides that I soft launched an encouragement site at MSSG.ME – this has taken off like crazy. I am surprised daily by the weekly emails I get regarding how people need to be uplifted and encouraged, on a daily basis. I say “soft launched” because I’m still developing it more.
I bought MSSG.ME a year ago for another purpose – a business I wanted to really start but since everything else in life has taken over and the domain was wasting away I felt like something needed to be done.
I’m always working with the ever-so-talented Sky 7th who amazes me with his lyrics. Trying to get a launch date of Christmas/New Years seems to be quite difficult but the movement never stops. We are wrapping up the editing of his second video off “Trouble On The Way” {which is free for download}. This following month we will be shooting MORE video’s which are still in development but I will say this. Get ready.
On the flip side I am working on a directory site that will blow some keywords out of the water. I will have about 75% up by Thanksgiving in time for Christmas shopping {online}. More on this as I develop it. I had to take a few days off after creating close to 1,150 pages…yeah, it’s like that.
While 2009 has been great the things that are set in motion for 2010 will be simply AMAZING!
