Sitemaps can often be an afterthought in the website development process. However, they can help in your search engine optimization efforts. There are two types of sitemaps, each with its own benefits for SEO.

XML Sitemaps
The XML sitemap protocol was originally developed by Google to make it easier and more efficient for search engine robots by putting all the URLs of a website in one place. It also provides a way for webmasters to inform search engines of new pages on their website. While having an XML sitemap and submitting it to search engines won’t necessarily affect search engine ranking, it can help get many of your pages indexed in search engines, especially if you have a large website with a large number of pages.HTML Sitemaps
HTML sitemaps also gather the URLs of a website in one place, and can make it easier for search engines to find and index your content. However, unlike XML sitemaps, HTML sitemaps serve two more functions:

1.  They provide a way for website visitors to find content that may otherwise be hard to locate through standard website navigation.
2.  The anchor text of links on an HTML sitemap will tell search engines what those linked pages are about, which can help the ranking of those pages.
3.  The links can pass PageRank flow to internal pages, which will help the ranking of those pages.

For assistance on sitemaps and other search engine optimization techniques, as well as other internet marketing strategies such as search engine marketing and email marketing, use the form on the right to contact Endai for a free consultation.