Create a Powerful SEO-Boosting XML for Your Website

XML sitemap covers the technical side of SEO. In fact, one can create an XML sitemap in less than a few minutes. Don't worry; you don't need to learn to code for that. You just need to know how to click. Besides, it is free, easy, and helps boost your SEO.

XML

XML is a list of website's URLs. It charts out how the website is structured and what pages the site covers. XML stands for "Extension Markup Language". It displays information on websites as search engines include crawlers that crawl throughout the website. Further, these crawlers can read all kinds of information. However, it makes the crawler relatively easy to acknowledge what's on the website and index it with the XML sitemap.

The crawler helps improve the website's ranking smoothly. The sitemap serves as a table of contents for your website. A well-structured website can do much more than you can imagine.

The sitemap tells search engines when a page was updated, the regularity of updates, the corresponding value of pages within a website, and how to obtain and list content found deep within the site.

Meanwhile, if you don't use a sitemap, your website could be seen as containing duplicate content. This might severely hamper the website.

Benefits of XML Sitemap

XML Sitemap comes with great benefits. Here's what you can gain:

• It tells Google to crawl and arrange the website
• It tells Google everything to crawl on the website
• It tells Google what sort of information is available on the website
• It updates Google when the content gets updated
• It helps sites overcome the limitations of a website with weak internal linking
• It helps overcome the challenges of not yet having a solid external link profile
• It allows sites to gain better and more organized indexation
• It helps Google crawl the website more efficiently
• It shows Google all the pages on the website

Creating XML Sitemap Using Yoast

Yoast is the most popular choice for WordPress. Yoast makes it easy to build and present an XML sitemap. However, this is a stepwise process.

• You must use a WordPress.org site
• You must install the Yoast plugin
• The website should be connected to Google Search Console

Log in to WordPress Admin

You need to go to the "Y" icon that says "SEO", located on the left sidebar. From the Features tab, look for "XML sitemaps" and toggle to "On". Now scroll to the button and click "Save Changes."

Once done, now is the time to submit it to Google.

Submission of XML Sitemap to Google

In order to submit your XML sitemap, you need to connect it to Google Search Console. You may check out Google guide for instructions on doing so.

• Go to Google Search Console and pick the website. From the dashboard, click "Sitemaps."
• Click "Add a new Sitemap."
• Enter the URL where you've saved your sitemap. Make sure you end it with ".xml" as it's an XML file.
• Click “Submit”

Once completed, Google will take care of the rest. The sitemap allows Google to quickly and seamlessly index the site, helping to boost the rankings.