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How will your visitor know the contents of your website once he comes to it? Your homepage may set the topic, but what if your visitor wants to know what specific information will he find? This is where a SiteMap is useful. Acting like the table of contents of a book, your SiteMap will let your visitor know if you have the information he needs.

So, what is a SiteMap? Strictly speaking, it is a graphical representation of the structure of your website. It shows how the pages are linked to one another. But such a representation may be difficult to implement, and if there are so many pages, may be even difficult for a visitor to find useful. So, a SiteMap is created by listing all the links of all documents and files found in a website. These links are typically organized in a hierarchical manner, thus improving readability.

Sitemaps do not only serve your ‘human’ visitors, but search engines as well. These robots, or spiders, crawl the Internet, getting data on web pages for a specific keyword. They crawl by following links, giving importance to pages that are linked to. Hence, a good SiteMap is also used for search engine optimization.

Benefits of a SiteMap

Creating sitemaps may take time and effort, so why have one? The following lists some of the benefits for creating a SiteMap for your website.

1. You can use a SiteMap as a planing tool for web design.

Even if you have a website with few pages, it is good to have a structure of your website. This way, if you are to add more pages later on, you will know where to put them. Your site will not become a hodgepodge of pages without any relation to one another.

2. No page will be left unvisited.

The search engine spiders will be able to visit all the pages in your website if you have a SiteMap. Your pages will then be included in the search engines’ databases, increasing your ranking.

3. Visitors will have an easier time to navigate your site.

One factor why visitors stay on a site is the ease to navigate through the site. With a SiteMap, visitors will have an idea on what the contents are in your site. They can also easily access those pages within your site. Without a SiteMap, your visitors may even leave your site, going back to the search engine pages, to look for information that may be in your website.

4. A SiteMap may encourage more traffic.

As your website grows, you must update your SiteMap. This way, visitors will know that content is being added to your website, encouraging them to return. This is also true if you are selling products or offering services. Potential buyers will immediately know your latest products or services by visiting your SiteMap.

5. There is potential advertising value when using a SiteMap.

With a SiteMap, potential advertisers will find it easy to best position themselves in the different pages of your website where they can advertise. This will mean additional income for you.

Benefits of sitemaps are worth the time and effort to create them. Not only will they help you in designing your website, they will also ease the navigation for your visitors, help your website in search engine rankings, increase traffic to your site, and provide you income from advertisements.

To Your Success
Cody Moya

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