I like Google. And I want every single page of content on my site in Google’s search database. Likely, you do too.
Now we could each wait for Google’s bots to crawl our sites and find our content – both old and new. Or, we could force the issue a little bit by taking advantage of a Google’s Webmaster Tools.
Part of Google’s Webmaster Tools is Google Sitemap. With Google Sitemap, you can submit a site map of your website/blog to Google and their bots will pick up your new content right away. Much faster than waiting for the bots to come back around your server.
My new friend Gary Conn covers the ‘how to’ using WordPress and a WordPress plugin in a great post from a couple of days back. Read his post for the details. But here are the highlights:
Step One: Add Your URL to Google.
Step Two: Create a Sitemap
Step Three: Add Your Sitemap to Google
Step Four: That’s it! No More Steps
Creating a Google Sitemap was an item on my development list that I hadn’t gotten too. Gary made it sound so easy, I decided to jump in and do it today.
I followed the steps, using Arne Brachhold’s Google Site Map Generator Plugin for WordPress v2. It was easy. I had the plugin installed, a Google Webmaster Tools account added to my Google account and my sitemap file added to Google in about 10 minutes. No kidding. It’s that easy.
And Google had my site indexed in less than 90 seconds itself. So there you go, in less than 15 minutes, all the page of my site are indexed in Google. And when I finish this post, my Arne’s plugin will update my sitemap file and ping Google to reindex my site. From now on, every time I write a post, the plugin will update the sitemap and ping Google. Gotta love instant gratification!
Yeah, I know what you’re thinking… “Dawud, you’re a web developer, you deal with code all the time. Of course this was easy for you.”
So I’m going to prove it’s easy by putting one of my friends on the spot. Over the weekend, I’ll ask Dave Schoof, a client of mine, who owns The Disquiet in Men, go through this process himself – without my help. I’ll have him follow Gary’s tutorial. Once he’s done, I’ll ask him to post his comments on how long it took him and how easy it was.
If you need further help, I did manage to find a video by Andre Cheperon. It’s a bit dated as Google Sitemaps was a stand-alone product when he made this tutorial. Though it’s still quite a valid as Google just added Sitemaps into their Webmaster Tools.
I’d love to hear your experiences both installing and using Google Sitemaps. What difference has it made in your site traffic?
Wow. Okay, I did the above, and found it was NOT simple for me. Understanding my FTP program, and which password to use was my first roadblock, opening the winzip file was my second, and then on andre’s tutorial (which was great) found that google has changed the page somewhat so had to search for “sitemaps” a bit longer than his video showed.
Let’s see how Dave does. Perhaps I should stick with interpreting babies instead of web-based anything!!! LOL
YES I DID! It is up and running and really wasn’t that hard to figure out, barring hormonally induced frustration! LOL.
You did mention about the dated video, but of course, being an experiential learner, it didn’t mean much till I got there and found it didn’t match his instructions…it took a minute or two to shift gears and re-orient.
Thanks for all the ways you support my biz and site! YOU ROCK.
Hey Dylan.
Sorry you had the problems you did. I did warn you on the video in the post. The other points are understandable if you’re just beginning to use FTP and aren’t familiar with zipped files. I also believe this may have been the first plugin you’ve ever installed in WordPress.
AND, you did get it up and working. Right?!?! That’s great. Now, each time your write a post, Google will pick it up almost immediately. Not bad for a little bit of work.
Your welcome, Dylan. Though I knew it was a bit of a stretch, I was confident you could do it.
Look at all you gained. Not ony the advantage of the sitemap, but learning FTP as well. And don’t forget that now you know how to install most plugins. Some are more complex and require placing bits of code, but many are upload and install. Think of all the cool things you can add to your blog now.
Hi Dawud – I am up! It took me 35 minutes. It was my first plug-in so I was a bit slow and careful. Works like a breeze. Very Cool – thanks Dawud!
Certainly, Dave. I’m glad to hear you took your time. Moreover, I’m quite happy you found this install easy. And now, Google can get live updates on your posts. That’s awesome.
Nice Post.
That was well said. Always appreciate your indepth views. Keep up the great work!
John