Sitemaps in Small Business E Commerce

Copyright 2007 by
Small Business
E-commerce Solutions .com

Site maps in Small Business E Commerce

A site map is simply put a map of your website. It shows all your web site pages with HTML links. Your website visiters can use the site map to find the information they are looking for. You can compare it with how you would use a map to find geographical places.

Technical Info
A sitemap is saved as an XML file. The sitemap can be hierarchical or graphical. It can be up to 10 MB in size or compressed if it is larger. If there are over 100 links, you can break the sitemap down into separate pages.

Why Use a Site map in Small Business E Commerce?
A site map does not increase the amount of visitors to your site. It is not an instrument for search engine optimalization of your small business e commerce website. However, it does help the search engines to find what is on your website. That is of course important promotion for your small business e-commerce. This can also identify possible problems with your website, such as broken links or duplicate pages.

How does it work?
The sitemap acts as a means of communication between the website and the search engine. The search engine will crawl your site and index it. The search engines will find it easier to identify the page in your website which contains particular information. This allows the search engines to point potential visitors to your website. Site maps also tell the search engines what new content has been added as well as what the website already contains. Some search engines have trouble indexing dynamic pages. Another reason to use a site map. The last reason to use a site map is that site maps can also identify possible problems with your website, such as broken links or duplicate pages.

How to Create a Site map?
There are three ways to create a site map:

1. Use a search engine's webmaster tools. These are usually free to use and an easy way to make the sitemap.

2. Use offline generators. Online generator are easier to use because they do all the work. If you don't like the look or feel of the sitemap, you can edit it yourself afterwards.

3. Commercial website editing tools such as FrontPage or Dreamweaver might create your sitemap for you, depending on the version you use.

4. Use a paid service to create a sitemap (online or offline).

Can I make my own site map?
Yes, if you don't want to use a site map generator, you can hand code the HTML yourself. However, it is easier to generate your sitemap automatically then try to write your own. Especially if your website is more than a few pages long. You can also use a paid service to create a sitemap and do it online or off line. If you don't want to use a site map generator, you can hand code the HTML yourself.

Do I have to include every page of my website?
No, you don't have to include every page of your website in the site map. It is advisable to include the whole site structure. Mak it fit on one page.

Where do I save my site map?
Save your site map in the root directory of your website. The location of the site map determines which URLs are included with it. If the site map file is at http://www.yourwebsitename.com/sitemap.xml, the site map file will include any new URLs beginning with http://www.mywebsitename.com/

Site map Submission
When you have completed your site map, you need to submit it to a search engine. Every search engine has its own interface for accepting sitemaps. You need to submit them separately if you are doing more than one. Search engines such as Yahoo or Google require you to create an account with them before submission. That is free of charge.

Conclusion of the article "Sitemaps in Small Business E Commerce"
A lot of websites use graphical website navigation links or Javascript which the search engines cannot follow. A sitemap is a must in small business e commerce, to ensure your pages can be found.

Maria Greene has been successfully involved in e commerce since 2001.
Visit Small Business E-Commerce Solutions
for more How to Find a Website
Designer tips.

Article Source: http://toponlinebusinessesarticles.com

Maria Greene has been successfully involved in ecommerce since 2001. Visit Small Business E-Commerce Solutions for more How to Find a Website Designer tips.

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