Unlock Your Site’s Full Potential with Accurate XML Sitemaps
When it comes to SEO, content creation, backlinks, and on-page optimization are always at the top of website owners’ and marketers’ minds. But there is one technical SEO element that gets left behind and can have a direct impact on how well your site is crawled and indexed by search engines: the XML sitemap.
If your site isn’t performing as well as you’d hoped in organic search, the problem may not be your content—perhaps it’s that search engines simply aren’t crawling or finding it well. That’s where an optimized XML sitemap comes in.
Here, we’re going to discuss why XML sitemaps are necessary, how they influence crawlability, and how to make and keep them to maximize your site’s SEO.
What Is an XML Sitemap?
An XML sitemap is a file that has all the important pages on your website that you want search engines to crawl and index. It serves as an instruction manual for search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo, guiding them through your website’s structure and ensuring that they don’t miss important content.
Whereas a typical HTML sitemap for users is coded in Extensible Markup Language (XML), an XML sitemap is actually coded for search engine spiders.
A basic XML sitemap looks like this:
<urlset xmlns=”http://www.sitemaps.org/schemas/sitemap/0.9“>
<url>
<loc>https://www.example.com/</loc>
<lastmod>2024-04-01</lastmod>
<priority>1.0</priority>
</url>
<url>
<loc>https://www.example.com/blog/</loc>
<lastmod>2024-03-28</lastmod>
<priority>0.8</priority>
</url>
</urlset>
It may look simple, but it plays a powerful role in crawl budget optimization, indexing efficiency, and SEO health.
Why XML Sitemaps Matter for Crawlability
Search engines deploy computer programs, or “crawlers,” to locate and crawl web pages. But they lack time and resources that are unlimited to search through every page on every site. And that’s where crawlability comes in.
Crawlability refers to how search engines are able to crawl and interpret your content on your website. If some pages are way below on your website, contain no internal links, or carry erroneous signals, then they may fail to be crawled or even accorded less precedence by search engines.
- XML sitemap improves crawlability in several ways:
- Suggests pages of high importance that need indexing
- Includes the last modified times to steer crawls anew
- Helps robots locate orphaned pages that don’t contain internal links
- Guiding bots through complex site architectures, like eCommerce websites or large blogs
Without an XML sitemap, Google might crawl and index your site inefficiently—or overlook valuable content altogether.
What Should Be Included in an XML Sitemap?
Creating an optimally designed XML sitemap may not mean adding all the URLs on your website. Instead, it’s about organizing in the most crucial pages for SEO. The following are the things you should put at the top of your priority list:
✅ Add:
- Core site pages (Home, About, Contact)
- Product or service pages
- Blog posts and guides
- Category pages
- Lead or traffic-driving landing pages
Don’t add:
- Duplicate pages
- Admin or login pages
- Redirected or broken URLs
- Filtered or faceted search pages (unless unavoidable)
It’s also helpful to have one sitemap per different content types—such as a blog sitemap, a product sitemap, and a sitemap for videos—and then merge them with a sitemap index file.
How to Create an XML Sitemap
There are various tools and methods for generating XML sitemaps, ranging from manual coding to automated solutions:
CMS Plugins:
WordPress: Use SEO plugins like Yoast SEO or Rank Math, which generate sitemaps automatically.
Shopify & Wix: Automatically generate XML sitemaps and expose them at /sitemap.xml in most instances.
Sitemap Generators:
- Screaming Frog SEO Spider
- XML-sitemaps.com
- Google Search Console (verification)
Custom Development:
For enterprise-level or custom websites, developers can script the creation of sitemaps from database information or CMS systems.
Once it’s created, place the sitemap in your site’s root directory (e.g., https://yoursite.com/sitemap.xml) and mention it in your robots.txt file.
Submitting Your Sitemap to Search Engines
Although search engines can find your sitemap in most situations automatically, submitting it manually with search engine tools like:
- Google Search Console
- Bing Webmaster Tools
Allows it to be picked up sooner, and you to monitor its health, such as:
- Submitted pages versus indexed number
- Any crawl errors or warnings
- URL-level index errors
It allows you to get extremely specific on exactly what Google is actually crawling on your site.
XML Sitemap Best Practices
To get the most out of your sitemap, follow these technical and strategic best practices:
✅ Update regularly: Ensure your sitemap is updated with the latest additions or changes to your content.
✅ Keep it clean: Don’t include broken links, redirects, or non-canonical pages.
✅ Use priority and lastmod attributes: These tell search engines to crawl newer or higher-priority content first.
✅ Size limit: Google recommends 50,000 URLs maximum in a sitemap file. If you need more, use a sitemap index.
✅ Integrate with robots.txt and canonical tags: Your sitemap should work in conjunction with other crawlability elements to guide search bots in a clear fashion.
Common XML Sitemap Mistakes to Avoid
Even minor mistakes in sitemap creation can harm crawlability. Avoid the following common pitfalls:
❌ Posting broken or stale URLs
❌ Including noindex or canonicalized pages
❌ Not resubmitting following drastic site changes
❌ Robots.txt vs. sitemap URL conflicts
❌ Including blocked or redirected content
Addressing these issues will turn your XML sitemap into a helpful map for search engines, not a frustration.
Final Thoughts: Unlocking Crawl Potential with XML Sitemaps
Your website might have good content, clean layouts, and awesome CTAs—but unless search engines can crawl and index your pages, that effort will never see the light of day with your visitors.
A properly optimized XML sitemap is thus a cornerstone of any Technical SEO strategy. With proper construction and upkeep, your sitemap optimizes your crawl budget, maximizes indexing efficiency, and shines the spotlight on the most valuable pages on your site.
At Select Mat, we appreciate the importance of technical precision in SEO. No matter if you’re creating your initial sitemap or you’re optimizing one for an enterprise site, having the proper structure in place can unleash massive performance gains.
Reach out to speak with an expert if you have any questions.