Learn how to find and use a Blogger sitemap for effective SEO. Types of .xml, setting up indexing in Google Search Console, the importance of content and robots.txt files - everything a beginner web developer needs is collected in one material!
What is a sitemap and why is it needed? 🗺️
Question: What is a sitemap and why is it important for SEO?
Answer: A sitemap is a file that contains a list of all the pages on your website that you want to make available for search engines to index. It helps search engines find and index pages faster, which improves your site's visibility in search engines.
Why is this important?
🔍 Speeds up indexing: Search engines find new or updated pages faster.
📈 Improves SEO: A sitemap helps search engines understand the structure of your site, which has a positive effect on ranking.
🛠️ Robot Navigation: Especially useful for large sites with many pages.
How to find a sitemap on Blogger? 🔗
Question: Where is the sitemap on the Blogger platform?
Answer: Blogger automatically creates a sitemap in XML format. To find it, follow these steps:
Open your blog in your browser.
In the address bar, add /sitemap.xml to your blog URL. For example:
https://your-blog.blogspot.com/sitemap.xml
Press Enter and you will see the XML sitemap file.
Blogger Sitemap Editing Options ✏️
Question: Is it possible to edit the sitemap on Blogger?
Answer: On the Blogger platform, the sitemap is generated automatically and there is no direct editing through the platform interface. However, you can:
Use robots.txt to control indexing of individual pages.
Add a custom HTML sitemap for your users' convenience.
Types of .xml files on Blogger and their differences 📂
Question: What are the different types of .xml files on Blogger and how do they differ?
Answer: The Blogger platform automatically creates several types of .xml files that help search engines:
Main sitemap:
Available at /sitemap.xml.
Contains links to the last 500 blog posts.
If you have more than 500 posts, Blogger automatically creates additional sitemaps, such as /sitemap2.xml.
Sitemap for RSS/Atom:
Available at /feeds/posts/default?orderby=updated.
Used to display the latest blog updates.
Sitemap for pages:
Available at /sitemap-pages.xml.
Contains links to static blog pages such as "About Us" or "Contact Us".
Differences:
The main sitemap is for posts, and /sitemap-pages.xml is for static pages.
RSS/Atom sitemap is more suitable for subscribers and services that track updates.
What to do with a sitemap so that the site appears in Google search? 🔍
Question: How do I use a sitemap to get indexed in Google?
Answer: To get your site listed in Google search, follow these steps:
Add your site to Google Search Console:
Go to Google Search Console and sign in to your account.
Click "Add Resource" and enter your blog URL.
You don't need to verify your site rights - for Blogger sites the process is simplified, as the platform automatically links to Google Search Console.
Submit a sitemap:
In the Sitemaps section, click Add/Test Sitemap.
Enter sitemap.xml and click "Submit".
Check indexing:
Use the site:your-domain.blogspot.com operator in Google to check which pages are already indexed.
Optimize robots.txt:
Make sure your robots.txt file is not blocking important pages.
On Blogger it is available at /robots.txt.
Create quality content:
Publish unique and useful content regularly.
Add internal links to improve navigation.
Speed up indexing:
After publishing new posts, submit their URLs to Google Search Console for recrawling.
How to Optimize Blogger Sitemap for Better Indexing? 🚀
Question: What steps can be taken to improve the indexing of a site on Blogger?
Answer:
Updating and publishing quality content:
Constantly publish unique and useful content that is interesting to your audience.
Make sure to update your blog regularly so that search engines see your site as active.
Setting up robots.txt:
Make sure your /robots.txt file allows search engines to crawl important pages.
On Blogger it is already set up by default, but if necessary you can add additional rules through the settings.
Internal links:
Create internal links between blog pages to improve navigation and link weight distribution.
External links:
Aim to get quality backlinks to your blog as they have a positive impact on SEO.
Using keywords:
Include keywords in your post titles, meta descriptions, and body text to improve your rankings.
Working with Google Search Console:
Although you don't need to verify your site, you can use Google Search Console to monitor indexing and fix errors.
Add a sitemap /sitemap.xml for the convenience of search robots.
Difference between Blogger sitemap and sites on other platforms 🌐
Question: How is Blogger's sitemap different from other platforms like WordPress?
Answer:
Blogger automatically creates a sitemap, which saves time and makes setup easier.
You have limited options for customizing the XML file, but for most blogs it should be sufficient.
Unlike WordPress, where you can use plugins to generate a sitemap, Blogger has it all built in.
Why can a site take a long time to index? ⏳
Question: What reasons can slow down the indexing of a site?
Answer:
Young site:
If your blog is new, it will take time for search engines to discover and index it.
Lack of external links:
If your site does not have links from other resources, search robots may visit it less often.
Rare content:
If you rarely publish new content, search engines may reduce the frequency of crawling.
Errors in robots.txt:
Incorrect robots.txt file settings can block access to important pages.
Server problems:
If your blog's server is unstable, it may make it difficult for search engine robots to access it.
No sitemap:
On the Blogger platform this is not a threat - the sitemap is created automatically along with the blog
Why Google Search Console may not see the sitemap? 🚫
Question: What are the reasons why Google Search Console doesn't see a sitemap?
Answer:
Invalid sitemap URL:
Make sure you add the correct sitemap address, for example:
https://your-blog.blogspot.com/sitemap.xml
Errors in robots.txt:
If your robots.txt file blocks access to your sitemap, Google won't be able to crawl it.
Technical failures:
Sometimes the problem may be on the Google Search Console side. Try resubmitting your sitemap in a few hours.
Caching:
Google may be using an outdated version of the sitemap. Try clearing your cache and resubmitting the file.
Bottom line 📝
A Blogger sitemap is an important SEO tool that is automatically generated by the platform. It helps speed up indexing, simplify navigation for search robots, and improve the visibility of your blog in search engines. Robots.txt settings and active content updates also contribute to success.