SEO
XML Sitemap
Quick definition
An XML sitemap is a structured file listing the URLs you want search engines to crawl and index, with metadata like last-modified dates and priority.
XML sitemaps are a discovery aid — they help search engines find pages they might otherwise miss, especially on large or weakly-linked sites.
Why XML Sitemap matters
Submit your sitemap in Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools. Keep it under 50,000 URLs and 50 MB; split into multiple files if needed.
How XML Sitemap works in practice
Only include canonical, indexable, 200-status URLs in your sitemap. Including redirects, 404s, or noindexed URLs wastes crawl budget and confuses signals.
Best practices
- Only include indexable, canonical URLs.
- Update last-modified dates when content actually changes.
- Reference all sitemaps in robots.txt.
- Use sitemap index files for large sites.
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Related terms
Robots.txt
Robots.txt is a plain-text file in your site's root that tells search engine crawlers which URLs they may or may not crawl.
Indexing
Indexing is the process by which search engines add discovered pages to their searchable index, making them eligible to rank for queries.
Crawl Budget
Crawl budget is the number of pages a search engine bot will crawl on your site within a given period, based on crawl rate limit and crawl demand.