TECHNICAL SEO

Sitemap

An XML file that lists all your website's important pages, helping search engines discover and crawl your content efficiently.

Why It Matters for Your Business

A sitemap is like handing Google a table of contents for your website. Without one, search engine crawlers have to discover your pages by following links, and if any page isn't linked well internally, it might never get found.

For growing Brevard County businesses that regularly add content (new service pages, blog posts, or location pages), a sitemap ensures every new page gets on Google's radar immediately instead of waiting weeks to be discovered through random crawling.

How It Works

An XML sitemap lives at a standard location on your website and communicates directly with search engines:

How Does It Work?

Let's Breakdown The Process:

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1.List Your Pages
The sitemap contains URLs for every important page on your site: service pages, location pages, blog posts, and more. It excludes pages you don't want indexed.
2.Include Metadata
Each URL entry can include the last modification date and change frequency, helping Google prioritize which pages to re-crawl first.
3.Submit to Search Engines
Submit your sitemap URL through Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools. You can also reference it in your robots.txt file.
4.Auto-Update
Modern frameworks generate sitemaps dynamically, so new pages are automatically included the moment they're published.

Tip: Click the circle to mark items done.

A Palm Bay HVAC company that adds a new "ductless mini-split installation" service page will have it appear in search results faster with a sitemap than without one. Google knows to check the sitemap for new pages regularly.

Note

After submitting your sitemap to Google Search Console, check back in a few days. The report shows how many pages were submitted vs. how many were actually indexed. A gap between those numbers usually means content quality or technical issues need fixing.

Common questions

FAQ

Tap a question to expand.

Does my small business website need a sitemap?

Yes. Even a 15-page website benefits from a sitemap. It ensures Google knows about every page and helps new pages get discovered faster. There's no downside to having one.

How do I submit my sitemap to Google?

Go to Google Search Console, go to 'Sitemaps' in the left menu, and enter your sitemap URL (usually yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml). Google will regularly re-check it for new or updated pages.

How often should my sitemap be updated?

Your sitemap should update automatically whenever you add, remove, or update pages. Most modern website platforms and CMS tools handle this. If yours doesn't, you need to manually regenerate it or set up automation.

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