A site map helps to strengthen the information on pages web crawlers find from the links within a website which in turn benefits your sites Search Engine Optimization success rate. Search Engines such as Google generally count on their web crawlers and bots for sourcing new pages on the web. It also benefits visitors to your website by making it easier for them to locate the pages that include the content the are searching for. In essence a sitemap provides an overview of how the site is arranged.

A sitemap is a synopsis of all the pages contained in a website. In the majority of instances small websites will include every page whereas in more involved websites, containing more categories, a site map will comprise of only the most import categories and sub categories. Most site maps pages are mapped out according to designated topics, although there are many other methods that are also used. Search Engine Optimization can be improved with site maps as the pages are found with ease.

Search Engine Optimization and site map design

A separate HTML page is used to create a site map with links to the appropriate pages on the web site to therefore function as a directory of the website. It is important to use plain text and to use bulleted or numbered listings for Search Engine Optimization. Maximize the use of your important keywords to enhance your 'keyword density' in the link text on the page. 'Keyword density' refers to the amount of times keyword 'phrases' and 'words' are displayed on your website.

Tips to remember for Search Engine Optimization of site maps

• Use plain text links.

• Create a plain text link from the home page to the site map.

• Maximize keyword usage for Search Engine Optimization.

• Use those keywords for the links on each page including the link you place on the sitemap.