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Google sitemaps?

24

Comments

  • MySchizoBuddyMySchizoBuddy
    no i have not tested it. its just a guide. its 90% correct.
  • sportman1280sportman1280 New
    hmmm it looks like u said, 90% correct. unfortunately, i dont know how the other 10% would go. :(
  • TexTex
    edited November 2006
    Big news.
    Google, Yahoo and Microsoft just agreed (last night) to use the Google Sitemaps protocol as a new standard.

    Ouch!
  • sportman1280sportman1280 New
    Tex, why ouch?
  • TexTex
    @ sportman1280: I do not like to see search engines setting the standards. Search engines should react on websites, not the way around. But that is, of course, just the way I feel. And I am sure there are different opinions on that.
  • KrakKrak New
    I understand what you mean Tex, but you need to realize that Google is not just a search. They are our new overlords. Hahaha.

    Seriously though, Google has transformed into much much more than a search engine.
  • WandererWanderer
     Quote: Tex  I do not like to see search engines setting the standards. Search engines should react on websites, not the other way around.
    I agree with Tex, and yes Krak, they have expanded and become huge, which is not a good thing for us. The bigger they get, the more we get penned up, fed, fattened and ready for market!
  • KrakKrak New
    I wonder how much I will go for.
  • TomTesterTomTester New
    You seem like a chewy piece of meat Krak...

    Re: sitemaps... I like what they've done, the old "scan all home pages and related links" is ass-backwards.

    Letting the content-provider tell the search engine what to do, where to go, and how often to refresh is
    just much more efficient. The only problem I have with the sitemaps is that the XML document name is
    'known' and accessible to all (like robots.txt), so it will even reveal things about your site to non-search-
    engines.
  • dan39dan39 New
    edited November 2006
    Yeah.. tell me about it: http://whitehouse.gov/robots.txt http://google.com/robots.txt Hard to believe the things they just don't want you to see.
  • WandererWanderer
     Quote: Krak  I wonder how much I will go for.
    I wasn't flattering you mate, they are not selling you, they will be selling to you, you are the market, they will have what you need because they will create the need.
  • TexTex
    Just to make my point clear: I am not against Google and I think they are doing smart things, which I use daily. I am also not against market mechanisms which enforce strong players. I just do not want (note: want) to use technology created by a big player to be invited into the game. Fair enough, I'm out.
  • TomTesterTomTester New
    Tex, do you (we) even have a choice?

    I don't know about your site, but mine (and those of my clients) get 70% of their traffic from google.
    Relatively soon NOT having a sitemap.xml file may make your site next to invisible or hardly visited
    (by spiders as well as users).
  • TexTex
    @ TomTester: But you can do a sitemap your own, right? My website is indexed fine, even without an updated sitemap. But it is a rather small one in a niche, so things might be very well different. Sorry for turning this into a debate on principles.
  • TomTesterTomTester New
    @Tex, google sitemap has little to do with a sitemap ON your site, but allows you to
    indicate the frequency with which (a) section(s) of your site changes and the relative
    priority of pages within your site. Also note:

    (from https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/docs/en/protocol.html#Frequently_Asked_Questions
    Sitemaps are particularly beneficial when users can't reach all areas of a website through a
    browseable interface. (Generally, this is when users are unable to reach certain pages or
    regions of a site by following links). For example, any site where certain pages are only
    accessible via a search form [my emphasis]     would benefit from creating a Sitemap and
    submitting it to search engines.
  • TexTex
    @ TomTester: Maybe I misunderstood something. Thanks for the link. I will have a closer look at it as I am always willing to learn new things. Thanks.
  • TomTesterTomTester New
    edited November 2006
    I really recommend this tool (to save you a LOT of time): http://gsitecrawler.com/
    (note: have no affiliation with this company, just the best off-line tool I've come across).
  • sportman1280sportman1280 New
    edited November 2006
    It is awesome for static content(I already was using it :) ). Running it often for dynamic content is a huge pain. :( PS: any update on the addon?
  • WallPhoneWallPhone
    In progress... I'm hoping to test this weekend to see if any problems emerge.

    *crosses fingers*
  • sportman1280sportman1280 New
    sweet, i can help test also if you need it. I have friendly urls installed on my forum.
This discussion has been closed.