"Web governance should not be an afterthought; when it’s done right, it can actually enhance your workflow and make your job easier. http://bit.ly/33vIZU0"
University Web Developers
Sitemap.xml: Worth it?
I've noticed that few Higher Ed web sites are creating a sitemap.xml file.
In my previous life in online news, the creation (and active maintenance) of such a file was a big part of our SEO strategy.
Any thoughts on the topic? Are people not building it because it's not worth the effort, or is it just one of those things you've been meaning to get to?
In my previous life in online news, the creation (and active maintenance) of such a file was a big part of our SEO strategy.
Any thoughts on the topic? Are people not building it because it's not worth the effort, or is it just one of those things you've been meaning to get to?
Views: 81
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by Michael McGinnis on
-
Supposedly with good site/link structure, search engines can crawl your whole site without a sitemap. But like human visitors, they do get "bored," so they may not crawl all the pages they know about, if they don't see value in them.
-
-
Permalink Reply by Bradley Livermore on
-
Sitemaps are very much worth it - regardless of how good your site structure is. You should see improvement in webmaster tools in the ratio between the "Total URLs" and "Indexed URLs" as well as an increase in "Total URLs" - stats that are found in WMT under "Sitemaps".
With modern content management systems having plug-ins or modules that automatically add files to your sitemap xml file there's really no excuse not to have one. Also you can put in your robots.txt file the line Sitemap: http://www.example.com/sitemap.xml [obviously using the correct URL] and Yahoo and MSN will pick it up. -
-
Permalink Reply by Andrew Grohowski on
-
We weren't generating sitemap xml's before I arrived here. We immediately started doing so and it is fundamental to our strategy. I still think it's a matter of not knowing to do so, or like you mentioned that it's not worth the effort because most university sites are quite large. For that group, automated tools are the key.
-
Elsewhere
Latest Activity
"Exciting news... OmniUpdate has merged with Destiny Solutions! Learn more on our blog. http://bit.ly/332KSr8"
"Switching to a new CMS? Join our next webcast with Briana Johnson from @OSUIT to learn how to convince decentralized web content authors to tolerate the switch, actively participate, and enjoy it! http://bit.ly/2zhdcIt"
"Your website is the front door to your college or university. Your website design has to accommodate for the way that students interact with and use the information your institution provides. http://bit.ly/2P8VldR"
"Learn how a new website design and CMS helped Florida Gulf Coast University increase new visits to the school’s website with improved SEO. http://bit.ly/2ByaQq4"
"Join our next webcast with Kelly Rushing from @uofsouthalabama to learn how to create accessible PDFs for your website by starting with your source documents. http://bit.ly/2zhdcIt"
"Learn why your college or university should choose SaaS across the board, especially for your next CMS. http://bit.ly/2Iy0SZE"
"Join us for our next webcast with OmniUpdate CEO Lance Merker, who will delve into key insights about Generation Z’s online search behaviors to help you refine your school's web marketing strategy. http://bit.ly/2zhdcIt"
"Our newest guide will help you learn what it means to be accessible, how to implement accessibility best practices, quick fixes to try as well as a long-term plan, plus tools to help you in your website accessibility efforts. Download it now!"
"Are online forms more efficient? Learn how El Camino College used Formstack to create online forms that expedited processing, improved communications, increased transparency, and promoted accountability across campus. http://bit.ly/2zhdcIt"
"It's important to understand the science behind your web pages to better engage and ultimately attract prospective students to your site. http://bit.ly/2ZYK8FZ"
"If you’re struggling with web challenges such as accessibility, SEO, design consistency, workflow, content governance, or how to start a website redesign, you’re not alone. Join our next webcast to learn how other higher ed institutions…"
"eQAfy confirms that OU Campus is still the #1 commercial CMS for colleges and universities in the United States. http://bit.ly/2Lir9Mn"
"Here’s an outline of everything you need to know about OCR compliance, including what it is, what your college or university can do to stay compliant, and resources for OCR compliance. #accessibility http://bit.ly/2rcPDgG"
"Join us for our next webcast with April Buscher from Montana State University Billings to learn how blind readers and people with hearing impairment view and read your website and how you can make it accessible to them. http://bit.ly/2zhdcIt"
"High schoolers spend more time on their digital devices than they do sleeping, doing homework, or participating in extracurricular activities. So how do you make your message stand out to them? #eexpect http://bit.ly/2MOIIWC"
"Want to increase digital engagement with high school juniors and seniors? Join our next webcast with Stephanie Geyer from Ruffalo Noel Levitz as she shares new data from the 2019 E-Expectations Trend Report on email, paid media, and social media…"
UWEBD has been in existence for more than 10 years and is the very best email discussion list on the Internet, in any industry, on any topic
About
© 2019 Created by Mark Greenfield.
Powered by
