A Sitemap is a powerful tool that can be used to help search engines better index and understand the content on your website. In this article, we will provide a comprehensive guide on how to create a Magento 2 sitemap.
This article will provide an overview of what a sitemap is, why it is important, and how to create one for your Magento store.
Having a sitemap is essential for any website, especially in the world of eCommerce. It helps to inform search engines of the content on your website and allows them to easily access and index it.
A sitemap also allows customers to find the products they are looking for quickly and easily. Without a sitemap, your website may not receive the attention it deserves from search engines. Creating a sitemap for a Magento store can be a daunting task, especially for those who are unfamiliar with the platform.
However, with the proper guidance and resources, it can be done with relative ease. In this article, we will provide a step-by-step guide on how to create a sitemap for Magento. We will also provide tips and tricks on how to optimize your sitemap for maximum effectiveness.
By following this guide, you can be sure that your Magento store will be properly indexed by search engines. It’ll also ensure customers will be able to find the products they are looking for quickly and easily. So, let’s get started and learn how to create a sitemap for your Magento store.
What is a Sitemap?
A sitemap is an organized list of pages on a website. It helps Search Engine Crawlers to access and index a website’s content. This can also help users to find the information they need in a more intuitive way.
Sitemaps are very important for SEO (Search Engine Optimization), as they help search engine crawlers to understand the website structure, content, and hierarchy.
There are different types of sitemaps. The most common are HTML sitemaps, XML sitemaps, and image sitemaps.
An HTML sitemap is used to help users navigate through a website. It is usually a page on a website that contains a list of links to all the pages on the website. It is often placed in the footer of a website for easy access.
An XML sitemap is the best practice for SEO. It is an XML document that contains a list of URLs that are available to be crawled and indexed by search engine crawlers. It also contains information about the pages, such as the last time they were updated, the frequency at which they are updated, and the priority of the pages.
Image sitemaps are used to help search engine crawlers index images on a website. It is an XML document that contains a list of images that are available to be indexed by search engine crawlers. It also contains information about the images, such as the location of the image, the size of the image, and the type of image.
Sitemaps are an important part of any website. They help search engine crawlers understand the structure of a website, and help users find the information they need. Different types of sitemaps serve different purposes, so it is important to choose the type of sitemap that best suits your website.
Since XML sitemaps are needed for SEO purposes, they are absolutely must-haves. Not having a sitemap is an SEO mistake. This is why default Magento has only XML sitemaps functionality and will be the focus of this article.
Why do you need a Sitemap in Magento 2?
Sitemaps are essential for Magento 2 stores in order to ensure the success of your website. A sitemap provides search engines with a clear overview of the structure of your website. This allows them to easily and efficiently index it. Here are some of the benefits of having a sitemap for your Magento 2 store:
Increased SEO Rankings: A sitemap helps search engines index your website and can improve your SEO rankings.
- Increased Visibility: A sitemap can help search engines discover more of your pages, increasing the likelihood that they will be seen by potential customers.
- Improved Navigation: A sitemap makes it easier for customers to find the pages they are looking for, improving the overall user experience.
- Increased Crawl Rate: A sitemap can help search engines crawl your website more quickly and efficiently, allowing them to index more of your pages.
- Improved Indexing: A sitemap can help search engines better understand the structure of your website and make sure that all of your pages are indexed properly.
Overall, a sitemap is an essential tool for Magento 2 stores. It can help ensure that your website is properly indexed by search engines, increasing your visibility and improving your SEO rankings.
Additionally, it can help customers navigate your website more easily and can help search engines crawl and index your website more quickly.
Generate an XML Sitemap in Magento 2
To generate an XML sitemap in Magento 2:
- From your Magento dashboard go to Marketing→ Seo & Search→ Site Map
- Once here click on the Add Sitemap button on the top right.
- Add the name of the sitemap in the Filename field and add its path in the path column, then click on Save and Generate button on the top right.
That’s it you are done generating the sitemap for your Magento store.
Configure Magento 2 Sitemap
For additional configuration settings related to the sitemap go to Stores→ Configuration→ Catalog→ XML Sitemap
Here you’ll see multiple options. The following 4 options: Categories Options, Products Options, CMS Pages Options, and Store Url Options have frequency and priority settings.
Frequency tells how often the page changes and priority tell the importance of each page type.
In the Sitemap file limits section, you can set the number of URLs and file size limits. Note that
Google XML sitemap should not contain more than 50,000 URLs and be larger than 50MB. This is why these rules are applied in Magento 2 by default.
Lastly in the Search Engine Submission Settings, you will configure how an XML sitemap is submitted to the search engine crawlers.
You can choose “Yes” to Enable Submission to Robots.txt. The sitemap link will be added to robots.txt. Crawlers read this file for getting the site indexation rules.
Conclusion
Creating a sitemap for your Magento 2 store is a great way to boost your SEO and ensure that your website is indexed properly. With the help of this guide, you should now have a better understanding of the process and be able to create a sitemap for your Magento 2 store in no time. By following this guide, you can now focus on optimizing your website for higher search engine rankings and increased visibility. With the right sitemap in place, you can be sure that your store is being indexed properly and that customers can find and access the content they need.
