Sitemap Best Practices
A sitemap is one of the most important technical SEO elements for any website. Think of it as a roadmap that helps search engine crawlers understand, discover, and index your web pages efficiently.
Whether you’re running a small business site, an eCommerce store, or a large content portal, following sitemap best practices can significantly improve your SEO performance.
In this guide, we’ll cover:
- What a sitemap is & why it matters
- Ideal sitemap structure & format
- Best practices for XML sitemaps
- Common sitemap mistakes to avoid
- Sitemap tools you can use
- Bonus tips to boost indexing
What is a Sitemap?
A sitemap is a file (mostly XML format) that lists important pages on your website, helping Google and other search engines crawl and index them correctly.
Types of Sitemaps
- XML Sitemap – Helps search engines crawl your site
- HTML Sitemap – Helps users navigate your website
- Image Sitemap – Helps index website images
- Video Sitemap – Helps index video content
- News Sitemap – For sites publishing Google News content
Why Sitemaps Matter for SEO
- Faster page indexing
- Better crawl efficiency
- Higher chances of ranking new content
- Important for large or dynamic sites
Sitemap Best Practices
- Use XML Format
- Include Only Indexable Pages
- Keep Sitemap Size Under Limits (50,000 URLs / 50MB)
- Update Automatically
- Add Priority & Change-Frequency Tags Properly
- Submit Your Sitemap to Search Engines (GSC & Bing Webmaster)
- Use Canonical URLs
- Include AMP Pages (If Used)
Common Sitemap Mistakes to Avoid
- Listing noindex pages
- Including broken/redirected URLs
- Having outdated sitemaps
- Multiple conflicting sitemaps
- Ignoring priority tags
Recommended Sitemap Tools
WordPress: Yoast SEO, RankMath, AIOSEO
Custom Sites: Screaming Frog, Sitebulb, XML-Sitemaps.com, SEMrush, Ahrefs
Bonus Tips to Improve Indexing
- Create an HTML sitemap
- Improve internal linking
- Maintain clean URL structure
- Fix crawl errors regularly
- Use Google Search Console Inspect URL tool
Conclusion
Sitemaps help search engines find your content faster, improving your chances of ranking. Follow these best practices to maintain a strong, search-friendly structure.