Google Search advocate John Mueller and analyst Gary Illyes share SEO tips for news publishers during a recent office hours Q&A session.
Taking turns answering questions, Mueller addresses proper use of the lastmod tag, while Illyes discusses the benefits of separate sitemaps.
When To Use The Lastmod Tag?
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In an XML sitemap file, lastmod is a tag that stores information about the last time a web page was modified.
Its intended use is to help search engines track and index significant changes to web pages.
Google provides guidelines for using the lastmod tag, which could be used to modify search snippets.
The presence of the lastmod tag can cause Googlebot to change the publication date in search results, making content appear newer and more attractive to click on.
As a result, there may be a tendency to use the lastmod tag for even minor changes to an article so that it appears as though it was recently published.
A news editor asks whether he should use the lastmod tag to indicate the date the article was last updated or the date of the most recent comment.
Mueller says the date in the lastmod field should reflect the date the page content changed significantly enough to require a rescan.
However, using the last comment date is acceptable if the comments are a key part of the page.
It also reminds the publisher to use structured data and to make sure the page date is consistent with the lastmod tag.
“Since the sitemap file is concerned with finding the right time to crawl a page based on its changes, the last modified date should reflect the date when the content changed significantly enough to merit a new scan.
If comments are a key part of your page, then it’s fine to use that date. Ultimately, this is a decision you can make. For the date of the article itself, I recommend you consult our guidelines for using dates on a page.
In particular, make sure you’re using dates on a page consistently and that you’ve structured the data, including time zone, within your markup.
Separate Sitemap For News?
A publisher inquires about Google’s position on having both a sitemap for news and a general sitemap on the same website.
They also ask if it is acceptable for both sitemaps to include duplicate URLs.
Illyes explained that it’s possible to have a single sitemap with the news extension added to URLs that need it, but it’s easier to have separate sitemaps for news and general content. URLs older than 30 days should be removed from the news sitemap.
As for sitemaps sharing duplicate URLs, it’s not recommended, but it won’t cause any problems.
“You can have just one sitemap, a traditional websitemap as defined by sitemaps.org, and then add the news extension to the URLs that need it. Note that you will need to remove the news extension from URLs that are more than 30 days old. For this reason it’s usually easier to have a separate sitemap for the news and for the web.
Just remove URLs from your news sitemap altogether when they get too old for news. Including the URLs in both sitemaps, while not very nice, won’t cause you any problems.
These tips from Mueller and Illyes can help news publishers optimize their websites for search engines and improve the visibility and engagement of their articles.
Featured Image: Rawpixel.com/Shutterstock
Whether you do it manually or use a sitemap creator, it’s important to ensure that each link is accompanied by an adequate description. This ensures that visitors understand the page content in advance and makes it easier to navigate from one page to another.
What pages should be included in a sitemap?
Which URLs should be entered into a sitemap
- Utility pages, which are very necessary and useful for users (review form, account, wishlists, etc.), but are not meant to be landing pages.
- Any redirects (3xx), pages with client (4xx) or server (5xx) error pages.
- URLs with parameters or session IDs used.
What should a sitemap contain? A sitemap is a list of web pages created for web crawlers to find your web content quickly and easily. The search engine can use a site map to display the most recent pages of a website or all web pages together, including all images, video content, and so on.
Which route shouldn’t be included in the sitemap? URL not allowed Your sitemap includes some top-level or different-domain URLs than the sitemap file. Up Level: If your sitemap is listed at http://www.example.com/mysite/sitemap.xml , the following URLs are invalid for that sitemap: http://www.example.com/ – Up level from a Site map.
Does a sitemap include all pages? These sitemaps provide search engines with a website’s URLs and give the data a complete map of all the pages on a site. This helps search engines prioritize which pages they will crawl.
Should a sitemap have 404 pages?
The URLs in your sitemaps should be clean, i.e. the sitemaps should only include URLs with an HTTP status of 200 (OK), indexable, canonical, and unique. If search engines find “dirt” in sitemaps, such as 404 pages, they may stop trusting sitemaps for crawling and indexing signals.
WHAT should a sitemap look like? A sitemap is a file with a list of all website pages that both crawlers and users need to know about. It is similar to a book table of contents, except that the sections are links. There are 2 main types of sitemaps: HTML and XML. An HTML sitemap is a web page that lists links.
What shouldn’t be in the sitemap? By listing unindexable pages, Google warns us to only include consistent and complete URLs in our sitemaps. This means we need to avoid sending Google unindexable pages that send confusing signals about which pages we want Google to crawl and index.
Should sitemap contain all pages?
Do I need to include every page of my website in the XML sitemap? Since the XML sitemap is generated specifically for website crawlers and search engines, only the most important pages should be on the sitemap. Your website most likely contains two types of content: rich, authoritative, and unique content.
What should I add to my sitemap?
What shouldn’t be in the sitemap? By listing unindexable pages, Google warns us to only include consistent and complete URLs in our sitemaps. This means we need to avoid sending Google unindexable pages that send confusing signals about which pages we want Google to crawl and index.
What should I include in my sitemap? A sitemap is a file where you provide information about the pages, videos, and other files on your site and the relationships between them. Search engines like Google read this file to crawl your site more efficiently.
What makes a good sitemap?
Characteristics of a Good Sitemap Whether you do it manually or use a sitemap creator, it’s important to ensure that each link is accompanied by an adequate description. This ensures that visitors understand the page content in advance and makes it easier to navigate from one page to another.
What should the sitemap look like? A sitemap is a file with a list of all website pages that both crawlers and users need to know about. It is similar to a book table of contents, except that the sections are links. There are 2 main types of sitemaps: HTML and XML. An HTML sitemap is a web page that lists links.
Is XML Sitemap necessary?
XML sitemaps are effective and necessary SEO tools for very large sites. But if you’re a small or medium-sized site with good internal linking, sitemap XMLs aren’t necessary. XML sitemaps are valuable to many websites, but unnecessary for others.
What is XML sitemap how important is it? In simple terms, an XML sitemap is a list of your website’s URLs. It acts as a roadmap to tell search engines what content is available and how to reach it. In the example above, a search engine will find all nine pages in a sitemap with one visit to the XML sitemap file.
Still need an HTML sitemap? An HTML sitemap is intended for users of your site. Typically, this type of sitemap provides links to pages on your site and can provide descriptions of those pages. We encourage the use of HTML sitemaps. They make it easier for users to navigate your site.
How important is XML sitemap for SEO?
XML sitemaps are important for SEO because they make it easier for Google to find pages on your site, this is important because Google ranks web PAGES and not just websites. There are no downsides to having an XML sitemap, and having one can improve your SEO, so we highly recommend them.
Is the HTML sitemap important for SEO? An HTML sitemap is a critical element of on-page SEO. However, you don’t have to be an SEO expert or a professional programmer to create one.
Which sitemap is best for SEO?
XML sitemaps are especially important when it comes to sitemaps that improve your SEO. They provide you with a direct advantage with search engines. There are many advantages to using XML sitemaps.
Is the sitemap useful for SEO? A sitemap helps search engines discover the URLs on your site, but it doesn’t guarantee that everything in your sitemap will be crawled and indexed. However, in most cases, your site will benefit from having a sitemap. You may need a sitemap if: Your site is very large.
Are Sitemaps still relevant?
They are useful for users when they are looking for something but also for search engines. Crawlers discover your website by “clicking” from link to link until there are no more new links to find. If all of your website’s links are in a sitemap, whether it’s HTML or XML, search engines will find those pages more easily.
Do websites still need sitemaps? A sitemap helps search engines discover the URLs on your site, but it doesn’t guarantee that everything in your sitemap will be crawled and indexed. However, in most cases, your site will benefit from having a sitemap.
Are sitemaps still relevant for SEO? Sitemaps are a necessity for SEO. A sitemap is defined as a simple directory or guide that contains information along with other details about the web pages contained within a website, as well as the content of those pages.
Is a sitemap necessary in 2022?
Sitemaps are not required for search engines to crawl your website effectively. However, they can come in handy, in particular cases. Since they are listed in Search Console, it is certain that Google gives them some attention.
Why do I need a sitemap? A sitemap allows crawlers on your site to reach all areas of your website, regardless of size, more efficiently. This helps with search engine optimization because it makes it easier for search engines to find all the content you want to be discovered and ranked on your website.
Can a website not have a sitemap? The truth is, while some smaller sites can technically get by without them, all websites benefit. And all growing websites will eventually need at least one. Most people understand that submitting a sitemap to the major search engines is good SEO practice.
Does Google still use sitemaps?
Search engines like Google, Yahoo and Bing use your sitemap to find different pages on your site. As Google says: “If the pages on your site are linked correctly, our web crawlers can usually discover most of your site.”
Does Google use sitemaps? Sitemaps can help Google find and understand video and image files or news articles on your site.
