An XML sitemap tells Google and other search engines what your important web pages are and how they are connected. Search engines use the sitemap to navigate your website to understand what kind of content you have on your website and how pages are linked.
This is what Google says about XML sitemaps:
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 more intelligently crawl your site. A sitemap tells Google which pages and files you think are important in your site, and also provides valuable information about these files: for example, for pages, when the page was last updated, how often the page is changed, and any alternate language versions of a page.
Sitemaps are an important part of your technical SEO strategy. You can have the best content, an amazing brand, and a buzzing social media presence, but if your technical SEO is letting you down, you won’t get the traffic and engagement you want.
In this blog, I give you the facts on XML sitemaps and links to articles that dig deeper into the technical aspects of XML sitemaps. By the end of this blog, you’ll know what XML sitemaps are, why they matter to your website, what to include in your sitemap, and how to create and submit a sitemap to search engines.
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SEO and Digital Marketing Must Do’s for Marketers, Website Owners, Writers, and Strategists
/in Digital Marketing, SEO /by adminA guide to the SEO and digital marketing tactics you need to prioritize
There are lots of experts, blogs, newsletters, and websites telling you how to achieve SEO and digital marketing success.
One expert says every blog must be a minimum of 1,800 words long and another says size doesn’t matter. One SEO authority says you must have an internal link in every other paragraph, and another says internal links are overrated. A trusted digital marketing website says every headline must be at least eight words long but no longer than 10 words.
Confusing, isn’t it? We feel your pain. And it’s why we wrote this blog. To simplify SEO and digital marketing. To help you understand which SEO and digital marketing tactics matter.
In a nutshell – know your readers, find out what they want, identify their challenges, and find the best way to help them.
We’ve taken a different approach with this blog. We have lots of great content on our website about SEO and digital marketing. And we want you to read and benefit from it. So, this blog is a directory to the content we believe is essential to really understanding SEO and digital marketing. Content that gives you the tools and knowledge you need to guide your SEO and digital marketing plans, campaigns, and strategies.
Read moreSEO and Digital Marketing in 2021: How To Create a 2021 Digital Marketing and SEO Plan
/in Digital Marketing, SEO /by Jane PhelpsAn SEO and digital marketing plan is your virtual GPS. It guides you when you’re not sure what to do next, reminds you of upcoming deliverables, and prompts you to make decisions about the best route forward.
And most importantly, an SEO and digital marketing plan helps you determine what you want to achieve in 2021 and how you’ll get there. Sure, you can play it fast-and-loose with random blog posts, scattered landing pages, and a free-for-all keyword strategy – but we really don’t want you to do this.
Let’s face it, 2020 has not turned out like anyone could have predicted and we really don’t know what 2021 will bring. But we do know that the companies who have continued to thrive in 2020 are the companies who had an SEO and digital marketing plan.
Read moreThe Latest in SEO and Digital Marketing: 6 SEO Strategies That Work
/in Digital Marketing, SEO /by Jane PhelpsLearn how to use SEO to connect, communicate, and network in 2020
Everything about 2020 is different. Except one thing – SEO still matters. In fact, now in 2020, SEO matters more than ever.
Your customers are online. They are working from home, attending virtual conferences, doing their research online, and making all of their connections through email, websites, social media, and Google.
You need to be online. But you need more than a website, Twitter account, LinkedIn page, and a blog. To keep your customers and attract new ones – you need a real SEO and digital marketing strategy.
In this blog we give you six SEO strategies that we know work. SEO strategies that put the focus on communicating and connecting with your customers.
Read moreWhat You Need to Know About XML Sitemaps
/in SEO /by Jane PhelpsAn XML sitemap tells Google and other search engines what your important web pages are and how they are connected. Search engines use the sitemap to navigate your website to understand what kind of content you have on your website and how pages are linked.
This is what Google says about XML sitemaps:
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 more intelligently crawl your site. A sitemap tells Google which pages and files you think are important in your site, and also provides valuable information about these files: for example, for pages, when the page was last updated, how often the page is changed, and any alternate language versions of a page.
Sitemaps are an important part of your technical SEO strategy. You can have the best content, an amazing brand, and a buzzing social media presence, but if your technical SEO is letting you down, you won’t get the traffic and engagement you want.
In this blog, I give you the facts on XML sitemaps and links to articles that dig deeper into the technical aspects of XML sitemaps. By the end of this blog, you’ll know what XML sitemaps are, why they matter to your website, what to include in your sitemap, and how to create and submit a sitemap to search engines.
Read moreGoogle, Page Experience, Core Web Vitals, and Your Website
/in SEO /by Jane PhelpsLearn why you need to put a priority on content and good design
More changes are coming to how Google evaluates and ranks your web page in search engine results. In May, Google announced it is adding page experience to its ranking algorithm. This means when the new algorithm comes into effect in 2021, your web pages have to give readers both high-quality content and a superior user experience.
To do this, Google will be evaluating and measuring your web pages with a set of page experience metrics and its new Core Web Vitals metrics. Now, at first glance this sounds like a lot – but the good news is, this change to how Google will be measuring and ranking your content is a plus for website owners who have always been paying attention to the keys of SEO and search success.
And even better, you have time. This Google update won’t be rolled out until sometime in 2021. This gives you (and us) ample time to audit your website, review your content, test it on mobile and desktop, and make sure you’re ticking all the boxes for page experience and core web vital metrics.
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