.:: Some Site-Map Related Queries ::.

tuXian · 07-04-2005, 11:31 AM

1. Whats ts the best way of creating a site map i mean something like for example a site has pages on states of India, their capitals and then the areas in the capital cities so the structure of the site map should be as in A (following the hierarchy) or B (plain). Please note that when you click on state page then the loaded page has the capital city link

A

Andhra Pradesh
---- Hyderabad
------- S.P Road

Maharashtra
--- Mumbai
-------- Napeansea Road

Karnataka
---- Bangalore
--------- Phraser Town

B

Andhra Pradesh
Hyderabad
S.P Road

Maharashtra
Mumbai
Napeansea Road

Karnataka
Bangalore
Phraser Town

2. Which of the above two is more bot friendly?

3. Is it ethical to make the sitemap page as the index page for some days so that all the pages are indexed. Once thats done the old index page can return. This will ensure all pages are indexed. But is it ethical

enoonmai · 07-04-2005, 11:13 PM

The very definition of a sitemap is a hierarchical index of your website. So its only obvious that the best method to follow is to use the same hierarchy your site and its pages use, to maintain a logical consistency and to make it easier for bots to index your site. So, if have a site that has two sections say games and Downloads, then it makes sense to organise it this way

Code:

Home

Downloads
-System Tools
-Multimedia
-Internet
-Utilities

Games
-PC
  - News
  - Downloads
-PS2
-XBox
-GBA:SP

Sitemap

Contact Information

Plus, its not right to make your sitemap your index page. It makes for crappy design and is just not right. The best thing to do is to include a prominently visible link to your sitemap (preferably called sitemap.html) and let the bots do their job. If you do this, you would have absolutely no need to make your sitemap page your home page.