Free Google Sitemap Generators
I just finished creating my first (test) Google Sitemap. It’s interesting that although Google released their sitemaps on June 2nd, I’ve already found a variety of free scripts and software to generate these files.
With Google Sitemaps you get:
- Better crawl coverage to help people find more of your web pages
- Fresher search results
- A smarter crawl because you can provide specific information about all your web pages, such as when a page was last modified or how frequently a page changes
So… I first downloaded and installed the official Google Sitemap Generator (free) on my web server, but seeing that you need to configure cron jobs (eek!) and do stuff with python (I have no clue), I looked for a simpler alternative (of course).
Then I came across another free script at phpSitemapNG. Install & changing permissions took no more than 2 minutes, but since I have over 3000 files on my site (how on earth did that happen?), it was a pain in the butt to go through my directories and files to choose which I wanted to exclude from the sitemap. However, the script was able to generate a sitemap of my ENTIRE site, including files and directories I didn’t want listed, within seconds. If you have less directories and files… or even a more organized site, you’ll want to give this script a try.
I ended up using Gsitemap, a FREE Google Sitemap generator software for Windows. I entered the files and directories I wanted listed in my sitemap into the software, uploaded the generated xml file to my site, and manually submitted these files to Google. Simple and easy is always really cool 
** Generating Google Sitemaps for Movable Type **
I used a template by Anders Jacobsen to create a separate sitemap just for my blog. When used unmodified, the template says…
the blog front page has highest priority & scould be scanned daily. Next comes the ten most recent entries at priority 0.9, then the 10 next after that, and then “last 1000 entries” at priority 0.5.
You guessed it, I uploaded that baby without modifying a thing.
Just checked my submission status as soon as I finished posting this entry, and both my sitemaps were OK-ed!
2 comments:
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geez.. i came across your site through iTunes, and I have got to tell you, you were born for marketing.
It truly amazes me how you have so much ideas and know how to present it well.
Ok… I am off to scouring your site further; it makes a great 2am reading.
-v
Hi Victor,
Thanks for checking out my site and your super kind words! I don’t know about being ‘born for marketing’ (lol!) - I was thinking more in the line of a… dancer or musician maybe? *heh*
Come back often!!
~ Carmen : )