4 Easy Ways to Build a Blog

A blog is an important communication tool for business. You can use your blog to distribute information to your potential customers, as well as build a relationship.

So how do you build a blog?

There are several ways that you can do it, but it all depends on how much time you want to spend on configuring your blog, as well as the types of customizations you want to do to your blog.

Below are several places where you can either get a blog, or get the scripts to build your blog.

Blogger – http://www.blogger.com – This is by far the easiest of all the blogs to build. It takes about 30 seconds to create a blog, and you don’t need to know HTML. If you decide that you want to customize your blog, it does have an extensive knowledge base, and you can quickly learn how to add to the template to make it your own. It’s also very search engine friendly.

Word Press – http://www.wordpress.org – Word Press is one of the most popular blog scripts on the internet. It has tons of features, and it’s search engine friendly. Some of the most popular blogs on the internet use this system for blogging. Some examples of features include plugins that allow you to create an mp3 player on your site so that you can use for podcasting. Other features include: technorati tags, photos, sitemaps, and an extensive collection of templates so that you can use to change the look and feel of your blog.

The code is light and fast, and it is search engine friendly.

Nucleus CMS – http://www.nucleuscms.org – This is the system that I use for my main blog. It has a few features that Word Press doesn’t have, like the ability to create an ezine from your posts and send them as email. You can use a cron job to automate the process, and you can send out your ezine when you want it to go out. This is especially helpful if you want to build a list of subscribers.

It’s allowed me to combine two tasks: blogging and ezine creation.

There’s an extensive collection of plugins you can use to customize your blog, as well as a theme system. The only drawback here is the lack of themes. However, new themes are being designed, and it’s pretty easy to design your own, or customize one of the theme available.

Code is search engine friendly, and you can use plugins to create a Google Sitemap, add keywords, as well as technorati tags. You can also create multiple blogs from one installation.

Drupal – http://www.drupal.org – This is really a content management system, instead of a blogging system, and instead of just creating a blog, you can create a community of blogs, or a complete community, including forums, group meetings, and more. The code is very search engine friendly.

There is a rich text editor so that you can code your posts.

Regardless of what system you choose to create your blog, choose a system that you feel comfortable with. You can quickly and easily use blogs to build relationships with your customers, as well as distribute your content. By building and writing a blog, you can demonstrate your expertise on your topic, while building relationships with your customers and readers too.

Ultimately, blogging can become one of the best tools you can use to market yourself and your business, and it’s free to implement.

Sitemap Design and Tips

Sitemap Design and Tips

Search engines, how do they do what they do? They have friends. They’re called spiders and sitemaps.

A Spider, Oh My!

A spider (electronic search spider) is a bot that collects data, copies and stores it for the search engine. When users type in keywords in the search dialog box, that busy little the spider reads a site’s content and sends a bot to follow its links to obtain the needed content for storage.

A sitemap?

Essentially a directory, a sitemap lists links to documents and files found in a website. Rather than a random listing, the sitemap is very organized. It’s organizedin much the same way as the website that it orgiinated from. It an be compared to the table of contents of a book.

What purpose does a sitemap serve?

The purpose of a sitemap is the same as with any map. It give you directions. Primarily it targets the spiders, giving them directions to your site and the links where keywords can be found. Therefore it is very useful in search engine optimization. If your site is well-organized the spider will find information with ease.

Sitemaps are also useful to web users since they display all the links to information found in a particular website. Many users navigate between pages of a website via sitemaps.

What are the benefits of having a sitemap?

1. Pages will not be missed.

Asitemap allows search engines to view all of the pages of a site not just those with random keywords.

2. Easier navigation

Once the sitemap has been accessed, the user will not need to go back to the search engine page to search for more information.. If what they are looking for is on the site, the map will show it.

3. Advertising value

It is easier to find particular items or services with sitemaps. The looking is done for you.

4. Encourage greater traffic to your site

Sitemaps lead potential buyersto the right place.

How are sitemaps formatted?

Formatting for sitemaps can be done several ways. They are: indexed, full categorical, and restricted categorical. The full categorical map displays all links that fall into that category. Restricted categorical sitemaps display links listed in chosen categories. Both are very similar, except that the full categorical displays all links in all categories at one time. And the restricted categorical focuses on selected categories.

You will find that the full categorical is the most popular. According to a 1999 SURL study, full categorical format is the most preferred and is easier to search for topics with the ability to perform comparisons between and among various categories.

Some tips to help in building your sitemap:

1. Link the sitemap only to your homepage.

This way the spider can start its search at the homepage and work its way down to all of your site’s pages, assuring that no pages are missed.

2. No more than 30 pages.

Having more than 30 pages in your sitemap may lead search engines to think that you are a link farm.

3. Check all the links listed in your sitemap.

You don’t want people to click on a link that does nothing. So thoroughly test you links on each and every page.

4. Use keyword-rich titles to sitemap links.

Keyword-rich titles will provide a greater advantage in find the right category. Make sure your sitemap is linked back to the sitemap.

5. Use short description for the links in the sitemap.

This will provide the readers with a better idea of what they are about to find and save them time that would be otherwise wasted on surfing.

6. Your sitemap need to be consistently designed

You should use consistent design elements throughout your sitemap. Use the same HTML template for all pages. This will assist in establishing identity.

For even more info on this, please visit my website www.ebookscomputer.com.

Good Luck!

Jeff Spires

Sitemap Taxonomy – To Classify Web Content

Sitemap taxonomy is a way to classify the tremendous amount of information available on the World Wide Web. Organizing web content is a lot of work that requires manpower and money. But creating sitemap taxonomy is a process that must be done in order to make information readily available to users.

Often times the information is there but users are unable to access it. With the sitemap taxonomy, web content is arranged in such a way that the user will be able to use it effectively. As it is more and more users are flooded with information that is useless to them thus creating frustration.

Impact of sitemap taxonomy to Internet marketing

Sitemap taxonomy can be a big boost to Internet marketing. The whole purpose of being on the web is to get exposure to a wider audience of potential customers. Unfortunately, the overflow of information often makes it impossible for searchers or browsers to find what they need.

Most of the time online users form searches that often turn up useless or non-relevant results. This is not only frustrating for users but also for any company advertised on the web. Users are left guessing the right keyword they need to use in order to get the information they need off the web.

Unfortunately not all users have the patience to keep guessing until they find the right keyword. More often than not, users will give up their search and go on with another search. This can mean lost sales for any company on the web that doesn’t have a sitemap taxonomy.

Building a sitemap taxonomy

Many people may think that building sitemap taxonomy is an easy simple process of putting together keywords. Sorry to say, sitemap taxonomy is a demanding task however it does have its rewards. With an effective sitemap taxonomy in place, a website is more likely to get more traffic that would translate into profits.

Working out a sitemap taxonomy is often a trial and error process. It requires using the right terms that users are better acquainted with, in order for them to find their way through the site. At the same time, using the wrong terms may make it impossible for users to find what they need within the site.

There are generally two sets of online users that should benefit from the sitemap taxonomy, browsers and searchers. Browsers often use the sitemap taxonomy to find their way within a site while searchers use online search engines to find the information they need. No matter what type of user is involved, the sitemap taxonomy should address the needs of both users. Enabling either user to find the content they need.

Do-it-yourself sitemap taxonomy

The best candidate for creating the sitemap taxonomy of a site is the company itself or the individual behind the website content. Although hiring a professional to create the sitemap taxonomy of the site is an option, it is best that someone with firsthand knowledge of the website’s content do it. There are a number of important aspects to consider before doing the sitemap taxonomy.

Keep in mind that in general the sitemap taxonomy should be extensive not profound. Putting together profound sitemap taxonomy may only make matters worse as the user will have a difficult time finding the subject matter they need. It is also best to use basic terms instead of advertising jargon that can be easily understood by all.

When structuring the sitemap taxonomy, it is important to maintain some exactness at the highest levels. This helps make it easier for users to navigate the site and find the information they need. It is also a good idea to limit the number of items under each level from two to seven subject matters. If not then it is best to combine subject matters for a more efficient sitemap taxonomy.

Take into account that sitemap taxonomy is not an exact science. It requires constant fine-tuning in order to produce an effective sitemap taxonomy. However the entire process will pay off big in the long run as users who are more likely to find what they need are those more likely to spend money.

Sitemap Generators: Good investment for online businesses

For those who are not familiar with sitemaps, a sitemap is quite simply a map or a guide that lists all the sections and pages of your website. One may find that a lot of websites have this feature, particularly the HTML type, for the benefit of users or visitors who have specific needs that may be answered by content in your site that is not readily located by clicking on section links or using search engines. It is a practical way of ensuring that users of your site are able to maximise the site to suit their needs.

Aside from the HTML sitemap, other types are the Text and XML sitemaps. A text sitemap is a simple text file containing your website’s list of URLs, and that may then be submitted to a search engine, such asYahoo, to inform them that the pages are up. This, then, allows their search engine spiders to visit the site and index it for future searches. An XML sitemap, meanwhile, is one in a formatted file recognised by Google Sitemaps that helps the search engine index your site’s URLs and keep track of changes made in the site.

Those who do business online recognise the reality that their sites need to be constantly updated with offerings and content that are interesting and in high demand, to keep the business running. As your site grows with more and more pages, while the increase of similar sites—your competition—threaten to reduce your hits, an updated sitemap proves more vital in the survival of your venture. Moreover, using all three types of sitemaps can help boost exposure for your site.

For this job, owners of big websites or a multitude of small online businesses can make use of free sitemap generators available online. Purchasing an unlimited version sitemap generator is also a good idea for the most updated sitemaps. You can think of using sitemaps as free or low-cost advertising for your business.

Online businesses with constantly updated sitemaps of their websites can make sure Internet users who are voluntarily seeking out specific information will find their way to the site’s content that even closely matches their needs. For instance, when a user does a search for a specific product, an updated sitemap can help a website with a wide array of product offerings to be included in the results and provide the user with a direct URL. Consequently, both the website and the user benefit from it; with the help of a sitemap, the search engine takes the user directly from the results page to the relevant web page, and with more people easily finding your site, business profits are not that far behind.

The easy way to build sitemaps for your site is to find a website generator that creates all three types of sitemaps. One such product is provided by XML-Sitemaps.com, which has basic the information on sitemap generation, as well as easy to follow guidelines.

Search Engine Optimization Tips – Google Webmaster Tools & Sitemaps

In today’s age, users do not have the time or the patience to go through thousands of search results. More than 90% of Internet users do not browse beyond the top 15 sites. In such a scenario, visibility and search engine optimization are crucial if you want to pull in maximum visitor traffic to your site. In such a case, Google’s Webmaster tools help you do just that and much more!

Google provides one of the best Webmaster tools available online. These tools offer a free and an easy way to make your site more Google-friendly and search engine optimized. “Google Webmaster tools” have great scope to help you in efficiently handling all aspects of website management and making your site search engine friendly. To take an example, keyword suggestion tool helps you in identifying keywords relevant to your business. Another tool like site analytics software helps you track online visitors to your site. This tool can provide information about the channel through which these visitors find you, if they are turning into customers and also give data on prospective leads on your site.

Broadly, these tools provide updated information about any problems on your web pages; the number of pages contained in your index and a detailed compilation of every page on the Internet that links to your pages. Using this tool, you can identify the reason why your pages rank high or low for search words and phrases. Optimal use of Webmaster tools is the only way you can achieve

search engine optimization

and a sure shot technique to stay way ahead of competition.

Another valuable tool is Sitemaps. A Sitemap is a list of pages on your website. By creating and submitting a Sitemap, you provide Google information about your site, including URLs which Google’s normal crawling process may not be able to discover. The Sitemap tells Google about the important pages of your website and how often you change them. This tool helps Google crawl your pages smarter and enables you to see what is going on the minds of Google searchers. To take an example, you can see what queries and keywords people use when they find your site. You will know whether people find you for the keywords you have been targeting or not. This way you can optimize your content.

Google Sitemaps is a simple way in which you can enhance your coverage in the Google index. It’s a collaborative crawling system that allows you to communicate directly with Google. The Sitemaps protocol allows a web master to inform search engines about URLs on a website that are available for crawling. By submitting sitemaps to a search engine, a web master is assisting that engine’s crawlers to crawl more intelligently and do a better job. Having a Google Sitemap would let the biggest search engines have latest and up-to-date information. To build your sitemap online in four easy steps, check the link http://www.xml-sitemaps.com/.

Google Webmaster Tools and Sitemaps are an excellent way to take better control of your website management. You would no longer be passively submitting your site; but would also monitor and edit it. As explained earlier, with the help of these advanced tools, you can improve online traffic to your site, enhance your site’s functionality and grow your business opportunities.

Benefits of and Tips on Designing a Sitemap

Have you ever wondered how a search engine works? It must be fascinating figuring out how this search tool could direct you to several websites that are relevant to your keywords. Or, have you experienced instances where the link that supposedly contains your keywords is not exactly what you have in mind? You would probably think that there must be something wrong with the search engine that it generated irrelevant results.

How does a search engine work?

Two things figure greatly in making search engines work effectively and efficiently: the electronic search spider and the sitemap.

What is a sitemap?

A sitemap is basically a page or pages that serve/s as a directory by listing all the links to all documents and files found in a website. It is not merely a random listing of links, but organized in such a way that it gives the web user an idea of how all the information that can be found in the site fits into an outline or framework. It is like viewing the table of contents of a book, or viewing the “concept map” of the site’s content.

What is a spider?

In SEO language, spider is not an animal found in your closet. This electronic search spider is actually a bot which collects data and copies content to be stored in the search engine’s database when keywords are fed into the search dialogue box. The spider reads the content of the site and sends another bot to follow the links and copy the content contained in them.

What purpose does a sitemap serve?

A sitemap like any other map gives directions to a navigator. It primarily targets search engine spiders so that they are properly directed to your site and to the links where keywords entered in the search dialogue appears. As such, it is actually a useful tool in search engine optimization. A well organized site map would guide the spider to find the information it needs when keywords are entered during a search operation.

As an additional beneficial consequence, sitemaps have proven to be useful even to web users. Since a sitemap displays all the links to information found in a website, it helps the user to search for a particular topic in mind. Many users also use the sitemap to navigate between pages in a site.

What are the benefits of having a sitemap for my website?

1. No page would be left unturned

Going back to the purpose of sitemaps, having one would mean faster and easier tracking and crawling of spiders all over your site. As a result, search engines would surely get to the view all the pages of your site and not just the pages containing random keywords.

2. Easier navigation for site visitors

Once a web user has accessed your sitemap, they need not go back to the search engine page to look for what they need. If what they are looking for is in your site, then they would have an easier and faster way of locating it.

3. Potential advertising value

If it so happens that a relevant product or service company reaches your site, then it would be easier for them to see how best they can position themselves in the different pages of your site as a paid page advertisement.

4. Encourage greater traffic to your site

If your company website has a sitemap then potential buyers would have an easier time in accessing your latest products and services. Moreover, they would not miss out on any product that might be off future interest to them since the sitemap would display all information found the site.

How are sitemaps formatted?

There are at least three major types of sitemaps: indexed, full categorical, and restricted categorical. An indexed site map appears as an alphabetical listing or directory.

A full categorical map displays all links classified into categories; while a restricted categorical sitemap displays all links listed in a chosen category at a time. The full and restricted sitemaps are very similar except that the former displays all links in all categories all at once in a page, while the latter focuses only the links under the selected category for easier and less eye-straining viewing.

The most widely used format is the full categorical. Based on the results of a 1999 SURL study on sitemap designs, the full categorical format is most preferred by users since it is easier to search for topics within the site and it allows easier comparison between and among categories.

Some tips in setting up your sitemap

1. Link the sitemap only to your homepage.

This is to ensure that the spider starts searching from your homepage down to all the pages listed in your sitemap. In this way, no page would be left unvisited by the spider.

2. Do not go beyond 30 pages for a sitemap.

Large websites having 50 or more pages should not go beyond 30 since this adds more pages to the site, and might make search engines think that the sitemap is a link farm. Also, this prevents overcrowding of links which could be tiring to view.

3. Check all the links listed in your sitemap.

It can be discouraging when you click on a link only to find out that nothing is displayed. Test your sitemap; click all links in every page to make sure that all links are indeed linked to the right page.

4. Give keyword-rich titles to sitemap links.

Keyword-rich titles give your site more advantage in being searched properly under the right category. But be sure to have this sitemap link linked back to the sitemap (e.g. back to sitemap).

5. Provide a short description for the links in the sitemap.

Doing so would give readers a better idea of what to find in the link and save them time on surfing.

6. Be consistent in designing your sitemap with the other pages of the site.

Employ a recurring design and the same HTML template for all pages to establish identity and build character to your website.

Now that you have learned basic things about sitemaps, maybe it is time for you to build one for your site.

Sitemaps – Crucial for Indexing Purposes

A sitemap is often considered redundant in the process of building a website, and that is indeed the fact if you make a sitemap just for the sake of having one. By highlighting the importance of having a well constructed sitemap, you will be able to tailor your own sitemap to suit your own needs.

Here are the main reasons why you would consider building a sitemap into your website:

1) Navigational purposes

A sitemap is as it states, a map of your site. If your the visitors browsing your site get lost amongst the thousands of pages on your site, they can always refer to your sitemap to see where they are, and navigate through your pages with the utmost ease.

2) Conveying your site’s theme

When your visitors load up your sitemap, they can see the full extent of the content available on your site. They may even find another area of the site they want to explore thus keeping them onsite for longer. This will give you more opportunities to sell to them.

3) Organization and relevance

A sitemap enables you to have a complete bird’s eye view of your site structure, and whenever you need to add new content or new sections, you will be able to take the existing hierarchy into consideration just by glancing at the sitemap. As a result, you will have a perfectly organized site with everything sorted according to their relevance.

4) Site optimization purposes

When you create a sitemap, you are actually creating a single page which contains links to every other page on your website. Imagine what happens when search engine robots hit this page, they will follow the links on the sitemap and naturally every single page of your site gets indexed by search engines! It is also for this purpose that a link to the sitemap has to be placed prominently on the front page of your website.

5) Sitemap Submission

You can submit your sitemap directly to Google or Yahoo. On Google just goto Webmaster Tools and login. It will bring up a list of your websites and from here you can navigate to sitemaps and add the latest sitemap to your Google account. This basically tells Google where all your pages are and it is generally downloaded by Google within the hour. Can you think of an easier way to get your sites individual pages indexed?

The above reasons, detail the importance of generating a sitemap, whether it be a web page or a standalone file that can be uploaded to Google. In addition a sitemap helps to organise each website project, especially the big sites and provides ease of navigation to your visitors. Without a sitemap you are missing a major marketing shortcut.

Six Tips To Help You Set Up A Sitemap

Just like a book has a page showing its contents, a website has a map of what’s on its site and this is called a sitemap. It lists all of the pages within the website, and acts as a guide for visitors to navigate to where they want to be and search engine robots to find particular pages of the website. Having a sitemap optimizes the site with the search engines and also helps to persuade visitors to return at a future date.

There are three main kinds of sitemaps:

1. An indexed sitemap – as the name would suggest, this is an alphabetical listing or directory. The relationship between the pages is not indicated.

2. A full categorical sitemap – this sitemap shows all links which are classified into categories. This is a popular kind of sitemap as it makes searching for certain topics easier and simplifies things between categories.

3. A restricted categorical – this sitemap displays all links in a selected category at one time; but it will not show all the links of a website, as the full categorical type does. The sitemap limits the list of links within specific categories making viewing easier and reducing eye strain.

With any of the above mentioned kinds of sitemap there are techniques which can be used to set up a superior sitemap and here are six tips to help you do this.

1. Link the sitemap to your homepage only. This ensures that the search engine robot begins searching from your homepage down through all the pages listed in your sitemap and no page will remain unvisited by the robot.

2. Restrict your sitemap to 30 pages. If you have more than this, the search engines may mistake your sitemap as a link farm, and this will result in you being penalized. Limiting the number of pages also stops overcrowding of links and will make viewing less tiresome.

3. Check all the links in your sitemap for error messages. It really puts visitors off it they click on a link and only get a 404 error message or the page requested cannot be found. Sometimes they may click a link and get shown a page which has nothing to do with what they were looking for, so it pays to keep on regular check on your links and make sure your visitors are being directed to where they want to go.

4. Giving keyword-rich titles to your sitemaps helps with optimization of your website. Search engine robots will search your website correctly under the right category.

5. Supply a short description for the link enabling your visitors to know what to expect to find by clicking on a link. It will save them time when surfing your website.

6. Make sure the design of your sitemap is consistent with those of other pages of your website. Use the same HTML template for all pages within your site including the sitemap. This will build character and establish the identity of your website.

If you follow the tips above, your website will look professional, your visitors will be encouraged to make return visits and the search engine robots will crawl through all the pages in your site, increasing your ranking in the search engines.

Create A Website Sitemap

It’s true. Search engine wars aren’t what they used to be. Web 2.0 technologies have made sure of that. However to disband with targeting search engines altogether would be a grave mistake that may likely leave your website 6 feet under. That’s why the SEOGuy always recommends that you create a website sitemap that the search engine spiders can come and feast upon.

You have two choices available.
1. You can spend countless hours creating, updating & maintaining your site map using Google’s sitemap generator @ google.com/webmasters/tools/dashboard. If you have nothing better to do than watch paint dry on the side of a building then this is indeed the option you want to choose.

2. Use the automated services from HitTail.com.

For me option #2 just makes sense especially when you add up all the other options that are available from HitTail.com. What you don’t know is that this is probably the only source that doesn’t even pay me an affiliate commission to talk about them. Yet their service is so valuable that I’m more than willing to share this resource with you pro bono.

Free membership with HitTail.com provides you with…

* Real time reporting of exactly who’s visiting your website.
* Longtail graph of exactly where your traffic is coming from.
* One of the best e-mail support systems in the industry.
* And more

What it doesn’t include is an automated sitemap for you to use. Probably because HitTail understands exactly how valuable of a tool a correctly formatted sitemap is. So if you’re going to use their automated service for this you’ll need to pay their fee of $9.95 per month which would be worth it for the sitemap alone, but that’s only the beginning of what HitTail.com provides it’s loyal paying clients.

In case you’re wondering “what in the world is a sitemap anyway”? The answer is, it functions like a roadmap for search engine spiders which lets them know exactly where each and every page to your website is. In so doing, when the spiders pay their visit they will have clear direction as to where to find your website and post it successfully to the search engines. With that said, I’m sure you can see why you need to create a website sitemap for all your Internet Marketing endeavors.

Sitemaps – Benefits and Tips on Designing a Sitemap

Sitemaps – Benefits and Tips on Designing a Sitemap

Have you ever wondered how a search engine works? It must be fascinating figuring out how this search tool could direct you to several websites that are relevant to your keywords. Or, have you experienced instances where the link that supposedly contains your keywords is not exactly what you have in mind? You would probably think that there must be something wrong with the search engine that it generated irrelevant results.

How does a search engine work?
Two things figure greatly in making search engines work effectively and efficiently: the electronic search spider and the sitemap.

What is a sitemap?
A sitemap is basically a page or pages that serve/s as a directory by listing all the links to all documents and files found in a website. It is not merely a random listing of links, but organized in such a way that it gives the web user an idea of how all the information that can be found in the site fits into an outline or framework. It is like viewing the table of contents of a book, or viewing the “concept map” of the site’s content.

What is a spider?
In SEO language, spider is not an animal found in your closet. This electronic search spider is actually a bot which collects data and copies content to be stored in the search engine’s database when keywords are fed into the search dialogue box. The spider reads the content of the site and sends another bot to follow the links and copy the content contained in them.

What purpose does a sitemap serve?
A sitemap like any other map gives directions to a navigator. It primarily targets search engine spiders so that they are properly directed to your site and to the links where keywords entered in the search dialogue appears. As such, it is actually a useful tool in search engine optimization. A well organized site map would guide the spider to find the information it needs when keywords are entered during a search operation.

As an additional beneficial consequence, sitemaps have proven to be useful even to web users. Since a sitemap displays all the links to information found in a website, it helps the user to search for a particular topic in mind. Many users also use the sitemap to navigate between pages in a site.

What are the benefits of having a sitemap for my website?

1. No page would be left unturned
   Going back to the purpose of sitemaps, having one would mean faster and easier tracking and crawling of spiders all over your site. As a result, search engines would surely get to the view all the pages of your site and not just the pages containing random keywords.

2. Easier navigation for site visitors
   Once a web user has accessed your sitemap, they need not go back to the search engine page to look for what they need. If what they are looking for is in your site, then they would have an easier and faster way of locating it.

3. Potential advertising value
   If it so happens that a relevant product or service company reaches your site, then it would be easier for them to see how best they can position themselves in the different pages of your site as a paid page advertisement.

4. Encourage greater traffic to your site
   If your company website has a sitemap then potential buyers would have an easier time in accessing your latest products and services. Moreover, they would not miss out on any product that might be off future interest to them since the sitemap would display all information found the site.

How are sitemaps formatted?
There are at least three major types of sitemaps: indexed, full categorical, and restricted categorical. An indexed site map appears as an alphabetical listing or directory.
A full categorical map displays all links classified into categories; while a restricted categorical sitemap displays all links listed in a chosen category at a time. The full and restricted sitemaps are very similar except that the former displays all links in all categories all at once in a page, while the latter focuses only the links under the selected category for easier and less eye-straining viewing.

The most widely used format is the full categorical. Based on the results of a 1999 SURL study on sitemap designs, the full categorical format is most preferred by users since it is easier to search for topics within the site and it allows easier comparison between and among categories.

Some tips in setting up your sitemap

1. Link the sitemap only to your homepage.
   This is to ensure that the spider starts searching from your homepage down to all the pages listed in your sitemap. In this way, no page would be left unvisited by the spider.

2. Do not go beyond 30 pages for a sitemap.
   Large websites having 50 or more pages should not go beyond 30 since this adds more pages to the site, and might make search engines think that the sitemap is a link farm. Also, this prevents overcrowding of links which could be tiring to view.

3. Check all the links listed in your sitemap.
   It can be discouraging when you click on a link only to find out that nothing is displayed. Test your sitemap; click all links in every page to make sure that all links are indeed linked to the right page.

4. Give keyword-rich titles to sitemap links.
   Keyword-rich titles give your site more advantage in being searched properly under the right category. But be sure to have this sitemap link linked back to the sitemap (e.g. back to sitemap).

5. Provide a short description for the links in the sitemap.
   Doing so would give readers a better idea of what to find in the link and save them time on surfing.

6. Be consistent in designing your sitemap with the other pages of the site.
   Employ a recurring design and the same HTML template for all pages to establish identity and build character to your website.

Now that you have learned basic things about sitemaps, maybe it is time for you to build one for your site.

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