A sitemap is a structured file that gives search engines an overview of the pages on a website. It helps Google and other search engines find, understand and index content more quickly.
In most cases this is an XML sitemap containing all the important URLs of a website. The file is usually generated automatically and can be submitted through tools such as Google Search Console.
What does a sitemap do?
The file mainly serves as orientation for search engine crawlers. On larger websites or for new pages in particular, it helps them pick up content more efficiently.
Typical information in a sitemap includes:
- the most important URLs of a website
- the date a page was last updated
- the priority of particular content
- an indication of how often a page changes
Why a sitemap matters for SEO
A sitemap does not guarantee that a page will be indexed, and it does not improve rankings on its own. What it does is make sure search engines know your pages exist, which matters most for large sites, new sites and pages that are poorly linked internally.