Creating a site map for the first time

User 1964159 Photo


Registered User
156 posts

Hi Yall!
'about to create my first sitemap and have read thsite mapper help PDF (it's big).
I have also read some of the posts in other threds here. It seems I have made a fundemental mistake before I start.
As I understand it I am wrong to have created a blank html page called sitemao.html and put a link to that in my main navigation. (although as i do not have navigation on my index.html page, only a button link to enter the site, I may well have messed up). Do I understand that the link to a sitemap should only be on the index.html?
User 92156 Photo


Registered User
272 posts

Hi Tone,


I 'm guessing that the 2 files produced by SiteMapper are used this way...
* sitemap.html is a "visible" page to be used by visitors to assist in navigation, and
** sitemap.xml is a page specifically for search engines to use and is not meant to be rendered in a browser.

As I said, this is a guess on my part PLEASE don't take my word for it (being a male, I find that reading a handbook is like asking for directions - it is something one only does in a fit of desperation :rolleyes: )

I'm hoping a knowledgable person will come on here and correct me.

I produced my own sitemap.html, then "discovered" CC SiteMapper and used it to trawl my site.
I've uploaded the .xml file to my root directory but have retained my home-grown .html file until I've finished editing the one produced by sitemapper to make it slightly clearer.
So, I hope I've done the right thing!
User 1964159 Photo


Registered User
156 posts

Thanks Zipper,
I see you link to your site map from all pages on your site. What has thrown me is a post in another thread fby Jim Cantrell:
"A few things to help with your site map.

1. When you run Sitemapper and have your list of pages it has found, find the sitemap.htm or sitemap.html which ever you have called it, right click on it and add to the Exclude list. The reason is that when Google robots visit your site you don't want it continually following pages it has already started to index.

2. Only place a link to your sitemap.html on the index.html page of your site, that is, the entry page, this is fro the same reason as in the above suggestion.

3. Go to http://www.google.com/webmasters/ and create an account.

4. Once you have created an account you need to submit your sitemap.xml file that Sitemapper created, once you have done this and Google has gathered and indexed your site you will be able to use the Webmaster Tools to see how your site is progressing.

Just spend a little title on the Webmaster Tools pages to see how it works, it will be beneficial to you.

Hope this helps.
User 92156 Photo


Registered User
272 posts

Thanks Tone I didn't know about all that.
User 92156 Photo


Registered User
272 posts

A thought just occurred to me, if I use "nofollow" e.g.
<a href="sitemap.html"" rel="nofollow"> link description <a>
to each sitemap link, would that fix it?

Or, I could I just add
<meta name="robots" content="nofollow">
to the head section of the sitemap.html file and have the search bots skip it altogether?

I've been reading a bit of Google's pdf on SEO, I'm assuming the meta "robots" is for all bots, not just Google's.
Also, I fit the category where a little bit of knowledge makes one dangerous - so if anyone out there on the forums think I'm barking up the wrong tree, please let me know.
User 597929 Photo


Registered User
1,332 posts

Actually, I put links to the sitemap on the handicapped-accessible nav section of every top-level page in my sites, and have never had any difficulties with the sites' indexing. If you're concerned about it, the easiest way to keep 'bots off the sitemap.html page is to have these lines in your robots.txt file:

User-agent: *
Disallow: /sitemap.html


That keeps you from having to make any mods to your actual site pages.
"You can't be a real country unless you have a beer and an airline - it helps if you have some kind of a football team, or some nuclear weapons, but at the very least you need a beer." -- Frank Zappa

Visit Spinland Studios: http://www.spinland.biz
User 597929 Photo


Registered User
1,332 posts

ADDED NOTE: The first line above might already be in your robots.txt file, if so there's no need to duplicate it.

Here's a useful link for understanding what goes in the file and why:

http://www.google.com/support/webmaster … wer=156449
"You can't be a real country unless you have a beer and an airline - it helps if you have some kind of a football team, or some nuclear weapons, but at the very least you need a beer." -- Frank Zappa

Visit Spinland Studios: http://www.spinland.biz
User 92156 Photo


Registered User
272 posts

Thanks Spinny I really appreciate your time (and that of other posters who have helped me recently).
User 92156 Photo


Registered User
272 posts

Spinny wrote:
... and have never had any difficulties with the sites' indexing ...


I've wondered about that, surely a "high class" setup like Google would have their bot organised so that it remembers what linked urls it's visited as it looks at a site, and doesn't go back there again?
User 597929 Photo


Registered User
1,332 posts

The way I figure it, Google's ambition is no less than making a map of the entire Internet. Looked at in aggregate, that mess is a potentially infinitely looping undirected graph. I would believe that of course their algorithms take looping into account. Mine would, and I'm nowhere near as smart as they are. :cool:
"You can't be a real country unless you have a beer and an airline - it helps if you have some kind of a football team, or some nuclear weapons, but at the very least you need a beer." -- Frank Zappa

Visit Spinland Studios: http://www.spinland.biz

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