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Despite the fact that sitemaps are simply lists of canonical URLs submitted to search engines, it's amazing how rare it is to come across a perfect one. Issues often arise when large site owners use sitemap auto generation tools that aren't configured properly. These sites typically come with challenges for search engine crawlers like pagination and URLs generated by faceted navigation.

Spiders decide what pages to crawl based on URLs placed in a queue from previous crawls and that list is augmented with URLs from XML sitemaps. Therefore, sitemaps can be a key factor in ensuring search crawlers access and assess the content most eligible to be seen in search engine results.

The following is a quick overview of search engine sitemap guidelines and limitations followed by a technique to help identify crawling and indexation issues using mutiple sitemaps in Google Webmaster Tools.

Bing & Google Guideline & Limitation Overview

The sitemap protocol has been a standard adopted by search engines in 2006. Since then Bing and Google have developed useful Webmaster Tool dashboards to help site owners identify and fix errors.

Out of the two search engines, Bing particularly has a low threshold, or at least they outwardly state they begin devaluing sitemaps if 1 percent of the URLs result in an error (return anything but a status code 200).

Google provides clear guidelines, limitations, and a more robust error reporting system when using their webmaster dashboard. In addition to submitting quality sitemaps, ensure that files stay within the following hard limits applicable to Google.

Limit sitemaps to 50,000 URLs File size should be under 50MB 500 sitemaps per account

Both search engines support sitemap index files. Rather than submitting multiple sitemap files individually, the sitemap index file makes it easier to submit several sitemap files of any type all at once.

Basic Sitemap Optimization

Basic sitemap optimization should include checking for pages that are:

Duplicated (multiple URLs in different sitemaps are OK) Returning status code errors - 3XX, 4XX, and 5XX

And any pages that specify:

Meta rel canonicals that are not self-referential Noindex meta robots tags

There are tools to quickly parse URLs contained within XML files and find this information like the Screaming Frog SEO crawler.

Using Google Webmaster Tools

Once comprehensive and quality XML sitemaps have been submitted to Google and Bing, breaking up sitemaps into categories can provide further insight into crawling and indexation issues.

A great place to start is by breaking up sitemaps by page type. Sitemaps can be diced up in any way that makes sense to provide feedback, the main goal being to expose any areas of a site with a low indexation rate.

Once an area has been identified, finding the source of the issue can begin. Using Fetch as Googlebot to identify uncrawlable content and links is often very helpful.

Another particularly useful technique is to use multiple sitemap indexation identification (or MSII, an acronym I just made up...) in combination with advanced search operators in an attempt to find excess indexation.

So for example, hypothetically speaking, if your website is having trouble getting posts indexed, it would be helpful to create a XML sitemap containing only blog posts. From this, an indexation rate can be calculated and an advanced search can be used to see what other pages might be diluting the crawling and indexation of post pages.

The search below shows that tag and author pages could be the hypothetical hindrance.

Additional advanced Google searches like site:example.com/blog/ inurl:tag AND inurl:author could then be done to determine the scale of potential excess crawling and indexation. The same concept can be applied to dynamic parameters contained within URLs generated by faceted navigation, pagination, sorting products, etc.

Save up to $400! Register now for SES New York 2012, the leading search & social marketing event, taking place March 19-23. Google's Digital Marketing Evangelist Avinash Kaushik will keynote. Early bird rate expires March 2.

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Basic SEO Troubleshooting With XML Sitemaps

Search engine giant Bing has announced the introduction of a new Markup Validation Tool that will ensure all websites are operating as they should in response to search queries, greatly assisting the work of the team at SEO Positive.

(PRWEB UK) 13 February 2012

Google rival Bing has announced this week that is has updated its Webmaster Tools with a new component, the Markup Validation tool, which promises to help SEO marketing experts at UK-based firm SEO Positive implement optimisation codes accurately and effectively.

The webmaster tool allows site owners to optimise their offering fully for Bing and provides marketers with an insight into how their website interacts with the search engine. Users can view comprehensive stats outlining their website’s impressions, clicks, indexed pages and crawled pages, amongst others.

Matt Wood, Head of Search at leading UK SEO agency SEO Positive, is looking forward to utilising the tool in the months to come.

“We’ve experienced an increase in demand for Bing PPC management and optimisation, so this tool couldn’t arrive at a better time for us,” Matt explains. “While Google still offers the most exposure for our clients, the team at Bing are much more forthcoming about exactly what it takes to optimise a site for it to perform well and respond to queries. Businesses should definitely look into SEO marketing with Bing as it’s a platform that we think is going to be explored further this year.”

SEO Positive was established in 2007 in Chelmsford, Essex with the aim of bringing effective yet affordable online marketing services to companies from all industries and backgrounds. The company offers a huge range of services including search engine optimisation, Pay Per Click account management, social media marketing and online reputation control.

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Ben Austin
SEO Positive Limited
0800 088 6000
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Recent Launch of Bing Webmaster Tool Offers Crucial SEO Guidance

The blogger claims it was done to discredit and oust Shahrizat Abdul Jalil.

(Free Malaysia Today) - Raja Petra Kamarudin (RPK) claimed today that Federal Territories and Urban Well-Being Minister Raja Nong Chik Zainal Abidin had a “hidden hand” in the leaking of evidence on the National Feedlot Centre (NFC) scandal.

The Malaysia Today webmaster alleged it was done to discredit and oust Shahrizat Abdul Jalil so he (Raja Nong Chik) could contest for the Lembah Pantai seat, a constituency he had coveted in the 2008 general election.

“How did the opposition come into possession of the evidence against Shahrizat?

“Everyone in Umno knows it was Raja Nong Chik who is the dalang (hidden hand). And he leaked the evidence to the opposition so that Shahrizat can be ousted from Lembah Pantai and then he would be able to contest that seat,” Raja Petra said in his latest posting.

The Selangor prince claimed Shahrizat’s statement – that there are hidden hands to bring her down – just after she returned from Mecca during her long leave supports his allegation.

Shahrizat did not state if the hidden hands came from within her own party Umno, but Raja Petra believed the statement referred to the internal workings of those in the ruling Malay party.

He also claimed the admission by PKR strategic director Rafizi Ramli, the leading man in the NFC exposé, that he had obtained information from whistleblowers supported his theory.

In an interview with an online news portal yesterday, Rafizi said the exposé often come through anonymous e-mails, indicating that they were sent by persons with vast information on NFC’s financial activities.

Raja Petra said he believed those behind the e-mails work for “handlers” which, in this case, is Raja Nong Chik.

“Rafizi does not know that sometimes whistleblowers or deep throats have ‘handlers’. And I should know. I do this kind of thing for a living”.

Nurul Izzah is next

With Shahrizat facing growing calls to quit, this would pave the way for a straight battle between Raja Nong Chik and Lembah Pantai incumbent Nurul Izzah Anwar, said Raja Petra.

The Malaysia Today webmaster claimed it was Raja Nong Chik’s men who helped gave Nurul Izzah the Malay support she needed to win the seat in the 2008 election.

Ousting the Wanita Umno chief meant it would be easier for Raja Nong Chik to take on the daughter of PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim as Malay support for Umno will no longer be split.

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RPK: Raja Nong Chik leaked info on NFC