XML sitemapWhat it means for you.

A file that lists the URLs you want search engines to know about, with optional update dates.

Growth Score · Acquisition

Definition

What it means

An XML sitemap is a machine-readable list of your important pages. It helps search engines discover new or deep pages and see when they last changed.

It is a hint, not a command, and should contain only pages you want indexed.

In Growth Score

Part of your score

Test it

Checks that read it on your site

Robots.txt testerReads the one file that can remove an entire site from search and tells you what it is really doing: what it blocks, what it lets through, and what it forgot to say.Sitemap.xml checkerReads the list you hand search and finds what is wrong with it: http addresses, pages listed twice, carts and tag archives, and dates that are all the build time.

Go deeper

Guides that cover it

Search for a new siteWhat moves a new domain, in what order, and what to skip so early effort is not wasted.Get pages found in searchSix checks in the order search meets them, from robots.txt through to indexing.Your first 100 customersFour zero-spend channels, run one at a time, each read in two weeks.

Acquisition

More in Acquisition

FAQ

Quick answers

What is XML sitemap?

A file that lists the URLs you want search engines to know about, with optional update dates.

Where does it sit in Growth Score?

It belongs to the Acquisition pillar, one of the 12 pillars your score is built from.

What should I read next?

Start with Crawlability and robots.txt, then browse the other terms in Acquisition.

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Nearby in the A to Z

PreviousWin-back campaign NextZero-click search

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Growth Score reads your site and scores its Acquisition pillar against sites like yours.

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