Sitemaps ‘Improve Domain Searchability’

by Lucy Griffiths on 25th June 2010

Having a sitemap can make a firm’s domain more searchable and optimise rankings, it has been claimed.

An article posted on the Bing Community blog advises those using professional SEO services that sitemaps improve indexing by drawing attention to the most important parts of the website.

When these are submitted to a variety of search engines, bots will be able to identify where files are located on the domain and remember this information for the next time they visit.

As the domain is changed and updated, additions can also be made to the sitemap to ensure bots focus on the newest content, helping the site seem fresh and relevant.

However, Bing warned professionals not to use sitemaps as "a mere URL dump" for every area of the domain.

Instead, firms should target the pages they want for indexing.

Another way in which businesses may be able to improve the links they create is to get involved with blogs and forums by leaving relevant comments and contributions, Google recently advised on its Webmaster Central Blog.