Why Ignoring Your Sitemap Could Be Hurting Your Organic Traffic

Why Ignoring Your Sitemap Could Be Hurting Your Organic Traffic

 

A sitemap: what is it? 

An organized summary of all the important pages on your website is provided to search engines by a sitemap. By acting as a guide, it makes sure that no crucial page is missed and points search engine crawlers to your most crucial material. Sitemaps come in two main varieties:

1. XML sitemaps are specifically designed to help search engines efficiently crawl and index content.

2. HTML Sitemaps: Designed primarily for users, these sitemaps facilitate website navigation.

The Effects of Ignoring Your Sitemap on Organic Traffic

Neglecting or disregarding your sitemap might have detrimental effects on the SEO efficacy of your website. It may have the following detrimental effects on your organic traffic:

1. Insufficient Web Page Indexing

It could be difficult for search engines to find and index your pages if you don't have a good sitemap. For larger websites, eCommerce sites, or those that are just getting started, this is extremely important. Pages that are not indexed will not appear in search results, which means that traffic chances are missed.  

2. Delayed Rankings and Slower Crawling

Links are essential for search engine crawlers to find fresh information. However, crawlers could miss crucial content if your website has intricate navigation or deeply buried sections. Even your most obscure pages will be indexed quickly thanks to a sitemap, which speeds up the discovery process.

 

3. A decrease in SEO visibility

Reduced search visibility may result from a disorganized or nonexistent sitemap. Well-structured websites are preferred by search engines like Google, and a sitemap that is brief shows that your site is set up for best indexing. 

4. Difficulties Identifying Updated Content

A sitemap helps search engines quickly recognize and index any new blog posts, product pages, or service listings you publish to your website on a regular basis. Without it, Google might take longer to notice new changes, which could cause delays in ranking improvements.

5. Impact on Voice and Mobile Search Engine Optimization

An updated sitemap is crucial as mobile-first indexing becomes more common. It improves rankings for mobile and voice search results by helping search engines evaluate how mobile-friendly your website is.  

How to Improve Your Sitemap to Get Better SEO Outcomes

Follow these best practices to ensure that your sitemap improves your SEO:

1. Keep It Up to Date

To properly reflect any new pages, deleted pages, or significant content changes, update your sitemap on a regular basis.

2. Provide Content to Search Engines

To submit your sitemap, use Bing Webmaster Tools and Google Search Console. This enables search engines to prioritize their crawling efforts and understand the layout of your website.

3. Emphasis on Pages with High Value

Avoid packing your sitemap with unnecessary pages. Focus on indexing service offers, important landing pages, and successful blog entries.  

4. Fix errors and broken links

Broken links in your sitemap or crawl issues might have a negative impact on SEO. To find and fix these issues, use routine audits with tools like Ahrefs or Screaming Frog.

 

5. Keep Your URL Structure Clear

The URL structure in your sitemap should be clear and well-structured. This increases crawling efficiency and enhances user experience.

In conclusion

You might not be aware of it, but neglecting your sitemap might be a serious mistake that is negatively impacting your organic traffic. You may improve search engine crawling, user navigation, and overall website performance by optimizing and updating a well-structured sitemap on a regular basis.

The SEO department at Mantra focuses on comprehensive SEO tactics, making sure that every element of your website, including your sitemap, contributes to its search engine ranking. Do you want to raise your rankings? Speak with one of our SEO experts right now!