Glossary · Technical
XML sitemap.
A file listing the pages on a site that the owner wants indexed, with the date each was last changed. It is a suggestion, not an instruction.
Why it matters.
A sitemap helps a search engine discover pages; it does not make them worth indexing. Pages listed in a sitemap with no internal links pointing at them are the classic case of “discovered, currently not indexed” — the engine knows they exist and has decided not to spend the crawl. Last-modified dates should be truthful; inflating them is noticed and discounted.
How to check it yourself.
Open yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml. If it lists pages that no longer exist, or is missing pages you care about, it is working against you rather than for you.
Questions
The usual questions.
How do I check xml sitemap on my own site?
Open yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml. If it lists pages that no longer exist, or is missing pages you care about, it is working against you rather than for you.
Check yours
The same test,
on your address.
We do not guess and we do not send a report by email. Type the address, wait ten seconds, read what comes back. If your site is fine it will say so.
Worth a
conversation?
No pitch deck and no discovery call. Tell us the trade and the city, and we will say what we would do and what it costs.