Making sure that your websites are fully crawlable is a key component for any search strategy, especially if you want your sites to rank well for multiple related keyword phrases or different products.
One of the ways that you can insure that a search engine spider crawls your site deeply is to provide it a road map of your site. This road map, called a "site map" is a very simple page (from a design standpoint) that only serves one purpose from a search engine optimizers point of view, to get those interior pages into a search engine's index.
A brief history of site maps . . .
Before site maps were recognized by the search engine optimization community as a tool for good search results, it was used by fortune 1000 companies to help visitors to their site find out where a particular service or product was located.
For example: If you want to do some sort of business with your bank online, you might find that their home page doesn't quite get you to the exact location on their site that you want.
After all, a typical bank might offer car loans, student loans, home loans, credit cards, investment accounts, mutual funds, etc.
If per chance you arrived at this banking site on a page other than the home page, you might get a little turned around from a site navigation standpoint.
So, site maps were created.
What is a site map?
A site map is a page that contains a basic HTML link to every page on that web site. Every page, not just your main topics but every page.
Site maps do not need to be fancy (in fact, it's better if they are not), they just need to contain a logical order and links to all of your pages.
How does this benefit us? Three ways . . .
First, a site map gives your customers an easy navigation system to every page in your web site. Now, don't confuse the use of a site map as a replacement for logical navigation on your regular pages. You want to make sure that your site can be navigated simply and easily from any page on your site.
However, some folks (a very small percentage) prefer to see the entire site's structure on one page and choose their destination from it.
Second, a site map is a fantastic way to get a search engine spider to see and crawl every single page in your site. When optimizing different pages in your web site for different keywords, a Site map is a perfect solution for ensuring that a spider can get to every one of those optimized pages.
Third, and this is big: A Site Map provides an opportunity to send link reputation to a particular page. Now, link reputation is a discussion that's beyond the scope of this aricle, but it is perhaps one of the most important factors in off Page search engine optimization.
You want the links on your Site Map Page to Say the right thing about the pages that they are linking to. It's like a vote. So, make sure that your site map is voting correctly for all of your interior pages.
Fourth, site maps are also an additional way to distribute Google page rank. If your site map is just one link off of the first page, it can pass a significant amount of Google page rank deep into your web site. This helps create a site structure where just about every internal page has the same chance of ranking as well as your home page.
Finally, site maps allow you to use dynamic linking strategies to control where page rank does and does not go throughout your site.
For example, a common mistake is to have a normal link to your privacy policy on every page of your site. In actuality, giving your privacy policy page the same page rank as every other page of the site is a big waste of whatever page rank you have available.
So use a good site map and you will reap the rewards
- Related Articles
- Related Q&A
- Things to Consider in Setting up a Search Engine Optimized Website
- Search Engine Optimization and Site Architecture Part II
- Do It Yourself SEO: Ten Search Engine Optimization Tips (Part 2)
- Search Engine Optimization - Site Map Optimization Technique
- Search Engine Optimization Has To Be Done Right
- Search Engine Optimization: Building a Tourist Attraction
- Optimizing Sitemaps for Search Engine Optimization
- 10 Essential Search Engine Optimization Tips




Enjoy better traffic with web content and Search Engine Optimization
By: Pardhi SEO Content Developer | 27/12/2009SEO is not a simple process but with simple steps it can be a lot easier. Learn how web content and traffic help in improving your business through SEO.
Getting a Top Ten Ranking - How To Get A Top Ten Ranking The Quickest Way ??
By: James Thomsan | 27/12/2009If you want to get people to click onto your Internet links on a regular basis, you will need to be listed on the first page of a search engine provides, and so near the top as possible. All advertisers must be indicated on the front page of a Google search to maximize the visitors to their sites.
Website Design With Silo Structure
By: Chris Owen | 27/12/2009A brief overview of what SEO and silo architecture can do for your website design to improve search results.
Five Best Linkbaiting Techniques
By: Leelin Lee | 27/12/2009Want to build backlinks that Google will just love? You can, just use these five linkbaiting techniques, and get high quality backlinks on auto-pilot!
How To Get Backlinks-Offsite SEO
By: Leelin Lee | 27/12/2009Wonder how one gets traffic to their web pages? Well, building traffic is all about building links from other web pages back to your content-also called backlinks. I'll share some of my favorite places to obtain these much sought after links.
How To Make Money With Free PLR Articles
By: Brad Bahr | 26/12/2009Looking for a free method of promoting your website? One that will attract visitors and move you up in the ranks of the search engines? Try this easy method.
Guaranteed Website Traffic Secrets - Three Reasons Why More website Content Increases Traffic
By: David Harrison | 26/12/2009Folk typically visit the web looking for information. They are on the lookout for content that has relevancy to their purpose. They typically aren't looking for promoting ploys. There are a range of ways to extend this content, including having a search engine optimization company provide you with keyword rich articles, but there are 3 major reasons why more site content hikes up your website traffic. The 1st reason more web site content increases traffic is that content artic...
Guaranteed Website Traffic Secrets - Three Reasons Why Online Directories Could Work for You
By: David Harrison | 26/12/2009Online directories are typically places you can list your business and internet site for others to see. These directories are broken into different classes for easier navigation. If someone is attempting to find a stereo site as an example, they can simply go to the electronic section and see a catalogue of every site that deals with stereos listed. After choosing which site to carry on to, the viewer then simply clicks on the link provided and is lead right to that actual site. On...
What are the Benifits to Installing a Furnace Humidifier
By: Pat Johnson | 20/10/2006 | Home & FamilyThere are two ways to combat dehydration, and both are essential; drink a lot of water, and maintain the relative humidity in the home and office at comfortable levels with the use of a furnace humidifier
How To Make Money With Affiliate Programs The Easy Way
By: Pat Johnson | 07/09/2006 | Affiliate ProgramsHow to make money online with affiliate programs is easy once you know certain tips and tricks. There is a wealth of opportunity and money to be made online, all you need is the right information and the desire to succeed.
How to Create Perfect Jennifer Aniston Sedu Hairstyles
By: Pat Johnson | 29/08/2006 | HealthJennifer Aniston sedu hairstyles have quickly become the most sought after hair styles in the entire fashion world today.
Top 7 One Way Inbound Linking Strategies
By: Pat Johnson | 22/08/2006 | SEMApart from quality content being the most important aspect of any website it seems that Google (and most other search engines) have placed a huge emphasis on the amount of one way links from other websites pointing back to your website
How To Make Sure That Your Websites Are Fully Crawlable By The Search Engines
By: Pat Johnson | 02/08/2006 | SEORecommendations for creating a search engine friendly site map on your websites
Explode Your Sales With 4 Simple Strategies To Writing a Killer Sales Letter
By: Pat Johnson | 28/02/2006 | Affiliate ProgramsHaving the skills and knowledge to write an effective sales letter will mean the difference between success and failure in almost any business.
An Introduction to Satellite TV
By: Pat Johnson | 22/02/2006 | CommunicationBefore making the decision to switch to Dish network or Direct TV you should have a basic understanding as to what satellite TV is so you can make an informed decision.