How to Create a Sitemap? Sitemap of WordPress blog is a very important aspect of the blog Search engine indexing. This Sitemap file helps to index your links in search engines by showing the path for crawlers and spiders.
This is a very important step to creating a sitemap and Submit XML Sitemap it to Google webmaster tools and Bing webmaster tool. It helps to index faster.
There are few plugins available for sitemaps creation on the WordPress repository. Recently WordPress SEO by Yoast plugin added this sitemap creation tool, if you are using this plugin, you can use this feature without any problem.
Other than this, today I am going to discuss a free plugin Google XML Sitemap generator, it helps to create a sitemap file for WordPress blog.
What is XML Sitemap?
Google XML Sitemap Generator plugin, helps to create a dynamic sitemap for WordPress blog, which is more compatible with Google, Bing and Yahoo webmaster tools.
After submitting a sitemap, when you publish a new post your sitemap will be automatically updated.
This site map link is filed in one URL. You must include the link at the footer, gives the best indexing results every time. This plugin is available free in the WordPress repository. It reaches nearly more than 1 Million downloads.
The main difference between the Blogger and WordPress is SEO setup.
The Specialty of WordPress is the availability of thousands of Plugins, preparing by “Open source community” to boost up your blog functionality very easily. Another feature is updating plugins regularly. So coming to WordPress SEO, “Google XML Sitemap” comes to this SEO plugins category.
Why Use Google XML Sitemap?
Google and other search engines will ask and will search this Sitemap to indexing your blog/site in their search engines index.
So a Google XML Sitemap is a very important plugin to index your blog/site. So all webmasters must install this plugin on your blog/site and submit this ‘sitemap’ to search engines.
So this plugin is very useful to prepare “XML sitemap”.
How to Work with Google XML Sitemap?
Google XML sitemap plugin crawls the total links in your blog/site like Post names, Categories, Tags content and presents as “XML” file. This XML file will help to index the contents in search engines. By the results, your blog/site gets the best Rank in the SERPs (Search Engine Page Results).
Once the sitemap is generated, all you need is to do, not the URL of your sitemap and submit it to the webmaster tools.
The Sitemap URL looks Like:
How to install and Configure Google XML sitemap Generator Plugin?
The installation of plugin and configuration is very simple. Just follow the steps below.
- Log in to WordPress blog
- Go to Plugins > Add new and search with “Google XML Sitemaps” in the search
- Click on the Install Now button, then activate it.
- After activation, go for “Settings > XML-sitemap“
- Just configure as given below
Features of Google XML sitemap generator:
- It supports all WordPress content like Custom post types, taxonomies, archives, authors, etc.
- No need to PHP skills to modify the file
- Available in many languages
- The user interfaces to customize all parameters like priorities etc.
- Calculates a priority for each post, based on the number of comments
- Notifies Google, Bing, and YAHOO about changes via ping
- Includes a WordPress filter for other plugins which can add their pages to the sitemap
Alternative Plugins to Create XML Sitemaps
1. WordPress SEO by Yoast Plugin: How to Create an XML sitemap
WordPress SEO by Yoast is the most popular SEO plugin, which is available free in the WordPress repository. There are so many added features included in this great plugin like sitemaps, social integration, and more. We have observed that there is a special feature, which is a standalone sitemap generator feature for WordPress blogs.
- How to Install and Configure the Yoast SEO plugin?
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To enable this feature in WordPress SEO plugin, go to SEO > XML Sitemaps and check the box. This feature shows you a number of options to configure WordPress blog XML sitemaps. After ticking the option just Save the changes.
Now your sitemap is ready with easily accessible with the public.
The link is shown as www.BLOGNAME.com/sitemap_index.xml
2. All in One Webmaster
All in one Webmaster plugin by April Shah is one of the popular plugin, which comes in both free and premium versions. It has 637,469 in downloads. It adds your requested meta tags into the header and javascript code to the footer of your blog.
This plugin allows you to easily integrate them with your blog. It has the option to add Google, Bing, Alexa, Blog Catalog, Yahoo’s Webmaster and Analytics code (meta tags).
3. Better WordPress Google XML Sitemaps
Better WordPress Google XML Sitemaps by OddOneOut. The plugin supports the Sitemap index and Google News Sitemap. Also compatible with WordPress Multisite. It completes nearly 548,093 downloads.
4. XML Sitemap
XML Sitemap plugin developed by Denis de Bernardy, Mike Koepke. It is a simple short plugin, which creates a sitemap automatically. No need to configure. Just install and activate.
This is the only WordPress plugin that supports the Sitemap index and Google News sitemap. Also compatible with WordPress Multisite. Download over 300 thousand times and rated 5/5 50+ times.
5. XML sitemaps from Jetpack
This is one of the important features of the Jetpack plugin to get organic traffic constantly. Jetpack recently introduced this sitemap feature. For Jetpack users there is no need to install an additional plugin to create this sitemap. Jetpack is one of the major plugins for every blogger. You can use this feature to create an XML sitemap in WordPress Blog.
6. Rank Math SEO for WordPress
Rank math is a recent SEO trending plugin in 2020. Most of the premium features which are available in another plugin activated in this plugin free of cost. Most of the professional SEOs and WordPress users are shifted to Rank Math SEO plugin for better SEO.
This plugin comes with an in-built sitemap feature. You can customize your site which URL should be index, which is not on the awesome sitemap settings panel.
I recommend this plugin strongly because I am using this plugin in all my blogs including this blog. Really fantastic. If you are a newbie to use this, I wrote a review on the Rank math SEO WordPress plugin last year.
Conclusion:
By using any one of the above plugins, you can create an XML sitemap very easily. Among that “Google XML sitemap” plugin is very good.
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The plugin created an “XML” file, completes 30% SEO work in search engine indexing.
So every WordPress using webmasters must install “ Google XML sitemap ” plugin on their blogs/sites.
