A sitemap is a map of the web sites you have created. When a user travels to your website and clicks on the link to view the sitemap, they will be taken to a page that displays all of the websites you have created. From this point, they can click on any link to view the full website. It is like having a virtual “site map” within your website. You can think of a sitemap as a digital version of a white label website map.
Why should you use a sitemap? Let us examine…
Makes navigation Simple
The traditional way of doing things is to have a series of linked pages that resemble a website map. Typically, this type of navigation will only display the home page, category pages, and detail pages. If you want to create a sitemap, you can add more links on the map. For example, you can add a contact form or an about us page to the site map.
The advantage of this approach is that it is very easy for a user to navigate. However, the disadvantage is that it can be difficult to find the specific page a user is looking for without first finding the general category or homepage. While this may not seem like a major problem, if you have several thousand products, it can potentially be a serious issue. A global SEO company, Crimson Hexagon, states that 43% of users leave a website because of navigation issues. This is according to a HubSpot Blog article that examined the top website frustrations and how to fix them.
A sitemap solves this problem by providing a snapshot of all of the web pages on your site. This includes both the big picture and the small details. When a user is on your sitemap and clicks on a product, they will be taken to a page that displays all of the information about that product. This can include detailed information about the product, photos of the product, description, any special offers, and more.
Offers Users A Detailed Tour Of Your Website
A sitemap can also be used to provide a detailed tour of your website. This means that users can click on a link within the sitemap and be taken to a page that provides all of the content contained within that particular section of your website. For example, you can have a “services” page that contains a list of all of the services your website provides. If a user clicks on that particular link, they will be taken to a page that contains all of the information about that service.
Providing a detailed tour of your website can be an effective way to persuade a potential customer to purchase your product or service. A global SEO company, Majestic SEO, reports that 77% of users will leave a website if they cannot find what they are looking for. If you want to improve your website’s navigation and help users find what they are looking for, you can create a sitemap.
Helps You Track Organic Traffic
Organic traffic is traffic that comes from searches on Google or another search engine. Typically, organic traffic is more valuable than paid traffic because it is much harder to track and measure. A good digital marketing consultant will advise you on how to utilize the Google Analytics app to track and analyze your organic traffic. Luckily, Google Analytics provides you with detailed information on all the websites that make up your traffic.
Organic traffic is valuable because it is a reflection of the value that your product or service offers to the market. Google provides a lot of information on organic traffic including the number of visits, the average time spent on a page, and the referring sites. This information makes it easy for you to analyze the effectiveness of your marketing efforts. For example, you can see if a particular piece of content or a certain banner ad produced a significant increase in visits to your website.
Offers Detailed Analysis Of Your Website’s Performance
The best part of a sitemap is that it includes a complete analysis of how your website is performing. This analysis contains a ton of information on different aspects of your website’s performance. For example, you can include the number of visits, the bounce rate, the time spent on each page, the locations from which these visits come, and more.
A digital marketing consultant will likely analyze all of this data for you. To get started, you can simply copy and paste the URL of your sitemap into the address bar of your browser. Once at the website, you can click on the “sitemap” button to access your analysis. From here, you can drill down into each part of your website’s performance and make appropriate changes.
Saves You Time In Future Launches
As your website grows in size and complexity, it can become difficult to keep track of all the different pages and links. A sitemap makes it much easier to maintain your website. You can add all of the new pages and links to a single place, and then update the list whenever you make any changes. This way, you can ensure that all of the pages and links remain consistent and up to date.
If you want to launch a new product or service, you can simply go through the list and delete any items that are not related to the new project. This approach allows you to keep your site organized while allowing you to easily add new content whenever you want.
Improves User Experience
Good UX is crucial in creating a positive user experience. A sitemap can help you improve your website’s UX by ensuring that all of the information is easily accessible. This means that users have to spend less time hunting for content and more time finding exactly what they are looking for.
Your global SEO company, Majestic SEO, reports that only 2% of users will leave a website if the information is easy to find. This is according to HubSpot Blog article that examined the top website frustrations and how to fix them.
A well-designed sitemap can significantly improve your website’s UX. This, in turn, can improve your conversion rates and user engagement.
To create a well-designed sitemap, you will want to use a tool that can help you organize and map out your web sites. There are several great tools out there that can help you with this including Google SiteMaps, Yoast SEO, and Woorank. All of these tools can be downloaded for free from the WordPress repository. This means that you can get started creating a sitemap immediately.
To learn more, visit this helpful website that lists all of the tools available for mapping out your websites. With all these benefits, it’s clear why you should use a sitemap to optimize your website.