If you are new to WordPress, you might have questions like, what is XML sitemap and how can you create a sitemap in WordPress?
Well, an XML sitemap allows search engines to better understand the structure of your site. Sitemap provides essential information that helps search engines crawl and index your site.
Read on to learn more about XML sitemaps, their importance, and how you can add them to your site.
Understanding XML Sitemaps: What is an XML Sitemap?
An XML sitemap refers to a list of all the important content on your site using the XML format. This allows Google and other search engines to find and crawl the pages. Through an XML sitemap, you are telling search engines about the most important links on your site and how often you update your site.
An XML sitemap may not be required, but it is beneficial for SEO. If you have just developed a new site, a sitemap comes in handy as new sites do not include backlinks. As a result, Google and other search engines can hardly find your content. Meanwhile, XML sitemaps help ensure that your important pages can be found and your content indexed.
Also, if your site is already well established, an XML sitemap helps you emphasize which sections of your site are more important and which are updated more frequently.
XML sitemaps also help create a great user experience. In turn, you have a higher chance of getting better rankings on search engine page results. XML sitemaps are also easy to create, so you might want to maximize the sitemap for your site, whether it’s new or large.
Creating an XML Sitemap
Apart from what is an XML sitemap, another important question is how you add an XML sitemap. Two popular options are:
First option: All in one is SEO. It offers powerful tools that help you optimize your site, such as adding a title and description, creating a sitemap, and notifying search engines about updates to your site or content.
Install and activate the AIOSEO plugin. then, go to all in one seo section in the WordPress dashboard and in the feature manager section. click on XML Sitemaps, You can choose the types of content to add to or schedule updates to your sitemap XML sitemap section.
The second option is Yoast Plugin. This is another well-known SEO plugin, and it can also be useful for creating XML sitemaps. After installing and activating Yoast, go to SEO And Common page and then the features tab, where you will see the XML sitemap.
Conclusion
An XML sitemap really helps search engines quickly understand your content and index the essential pages of your site. As a result, your content can appear in search results, thus improving your SEO. You can also easily create XML sitemaps with plugins like Yoast and All in One SEO. Add one to your site now to experience the SEO benefits!
