Who is this post written for?

Anyone who is interested in ranking well within the search engines and has a basic understanding of how the internet works.

What is a sitemap?

A sitemap is a listing of the pages on your website.  It is used by crawlers (search engine spiders) and site users to easily navigate through your site.  Not only does the sitemap list the pages on your site, it informs search engine spiders how often the content on those pages changes and also identifies which pages you feel are more important.

When should I add the sitemap to my website?

Your sitemap should be added to your site and then submitted to the search engines when the website is complete.  No point in submitting pages that are not complete or will drive to a “Page Under Construction” notification.

Where should the sitemap be located?

According to Sitemap Protocol, it is strongly recommended that you place your Sitemap at the root directory of your HTML server; that is, place it at http://example.com/sitemap.xml.

Why do I need a sitemap?

Webcrawlers find more pages and websites to crawl through links.  Posting your links in one central location that is universally known as your “sitemap” will simplify the “crawling” process for the search engine spiders.

How do I submit my sitemaps to the major search engines?

Before submitting your Sitemap to the major search engines, make sure that your Sitemap is created per Sitemap Protocol as found at sitemaps.org.

Once your sitemap is created, focus initially on the three major search engines and then move onto the many other searching tools available on the web.

GOOGLE.com – Google offers a handful of tools and resources to assist with your site rankings.  First step is to set-up a Google account and sign-up your website with Webmaster Tools.  These tools will crawl your site and confirm the status of your links.  You can also submit your Sitemap here.  A quick overview on submitting to Google.

YAHOO.com – Yahoo! offers a quick overview on how they support sitemaps. Read the overview, and then submit your Sitemap to Yahoo!

BING.com – Bing, MSN’s new search engine, also has a resource area specific for Webmaster Tools.  The instructions to submit your Sitemap to Bing are fairly simple.

To submit an XML-based Sitemap to Bing:

1. Copy and paste the entire URL below as a single URL into the address bar of your browser: http://www.bing.com/webmaster/ping.aspx?sitemap=www.YourWebAddress.com/sitemap.xml
2. Change “www.YourWebAddress.com” to your domain name
3. Press ENTER

Any other search engines you use that we should mention how to submit to them?  Let us know or comment on it and we will add it to this post.

Your most important connections are the ones you already have. Sift through your business card collection and find a viable reason to periodically contact those connections and keep your name in front of them. Regardless if the intention is to do business with them or not, Joe Smith may very well know someone who needs your services. Your viable reason could simply be grabbing a cup of coffee and catching up.

Google your own company’s name. Yes, SEO is important, but that’s not the reason for this post. Besides your own website, what else is showing up? News articles? Blog posts? Comments on forums? Is the information positive or negative? Writing and submitting press releases is a simple way to get additional exposure online and in the search engines. Whether you submit the press release electronically or by snail mail, most publications will still add the release to their website. Fresh content is usually displayed above old content. If the information you find about your company is negative, writing a press release can push the negative content further into the search results – making it less likely your audience will see it when searching for your company.

Get out their and network. Start creating new connections by attending a new organization. Step outside of your comfort zone and try a new organization. New networking groups are popping up left and right, each with its own unique approach to connecting individuals. Try something new. More importantly, find one you like and get involved in the organization.

Recently I have heard some excellent approaches to staying in the forefront during these challenging economic times. Not only am I receiving some good ideas, but I am sharing ideas with my connections. And even more important, connecting my connections with others.

Paying it forward, check out where some of my inspiration for this post came from:

www.katewrites.com – Kate Kotecki, Independent Writing and Editing Professional

www.clearverve.com – Christina Steder, Marketing and Public Relations Professional

These approaches represent everything except innovation. They are common rules to successful business practice; nonetheless it doesn’t hurt to be kindly reminded of the rules occassionaly.

5) Encourage the repeat site visitors. Repeat site visitors is an easy way to brand your brand into the heads of your consumers. Offering an incentive to return to your website such as offer of the week or tip of the month are easy ways to encourage those repeat site visits.

4) Evaluate your current SEO and PPC campaign. Are the techniques you have been using effective? Does your SEO and PPC campaign take into effect the recent changes to business? Shoppers are frugal, customers are seeking deals – do your keywords reflect the offers and deals your business is offering?

3) Review web site statistics. Are the statistics showing patterns on where your site visitors are leaving your site? If so, how can you change that to keep them longer? How are site visitors finding your website? Is it through the search engines, email marketing campaigns, or other websites? Reviewing website statistics allows for the opportunity to change the areas of the site that need it most. It also allows you to understand your target demographics. Are site visitors local or national? Are they searching your site at 6am or 6pm?

2) Bring the design to 2009. If your site was last redesigned in 1999, it is a decade old now. Sad, but true. It is important though not to just redesign to make it aesthetically pleasing, but to evaluate the architecture (navigation) of the site as well. The goal of a website should be to make it as easy and pleasing for your target audience to use and navigate.

1) Get online and expand your network. Online social and professional networks are growing every day. Your next big client could be posting a comment on Twitter.com or asking a question on LinkedIn.com. Creating an online presence outside of your website enhances your credibility, allows for additional links to your site, and opens many many doors for new business.

A Prosperous and Joyous New Year to All – Cheers!