How to configure a sitemap in Rank Math

In this tutorial, explore how the Rank Math Configure the site map in theOptimize your website for SEO Performance. A sitemap is one of the most important parts of a website thatHelp search engines efficiently crawl, index and understand the structure of your site and ensure content visibilityThe

1. What is a site map?

A sitemap is an index of all the content on your website that search engines can use to discover and crawl your content efficiently. It can be XML format, which can also be HTML format, designed to help search engines understand the importance of pages and how often they are updated. While Google can crawl your site on its own, sitemaps make crawling more efficient, especially for large or complex sites.

2. Access to site map settings

You can access the sitemap settings through the WordPress menu of the Rank Math plugin:

• In the WordPress backend, select "Rank Math SEO"→"Site Map Settings".

• Once inside, you will see multiple tabs, each managing a different section of the sitemap, such as:Posts, Pages, Attachments, Products, Categoriesetc.

3. Preparation prior to commencement

Before configuring a sitemap, make sure you have cleared the following points:

• Website content structure: Understanding the type of content on your site (posts, pages, products, etc.) is key to configuring your sitemap.
• Site map segmentation: The sitemap files should be as concise as possible, and it is recommended that each file contain no more than 200 links, although Google supports up to 50,000 URLs.
• SEO Priority Settings: A sitemap can set priorities for specific pages, and while Google doesn't rely on this setting exclusively, it can be used as a crawling guide.

4. Configuring the different parts of the site map

General Settings

• Number of links per page: It is recommended to set the number of links in each sitemap file to 200 to help Google crawl content faster and better.

• Contains pictures: Enable this setting to ensure that your images appear in search engine image results.
• Featured Image: Optionally, you can choose whether or not to include the featured image of a post or page in the sitemap.
• Exclude specific posts or pages: Content that you do not want to appear in the sitemap can be excluded by entering the ID of the post or page.

Posts, pages and product settings

• Posts, pages, and product type sitemaps: can be generated separately for each of these three types of contentstand aloneof the sitemap. It is recommended to enable it in order to give search engines a full picture of your content.
• Image custom fields: If there are custom fields in a post, page, or product that hold image URLs, you can include those images in the sitemap.

Categories and labels

with regards tocategorizationlaw (categories, labels, etc.), andIndexing all content is not recommendedInputting excludedID, multiple separated by commas.

From URLyourwebsite.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=1&action=editwithdraw (from a bank or warehouse)post=Part. In this example, it will be:

post=1

"=The number following the " symbol is the post ID, which you can enter in the Exclude post field to exclude it from the sitemap.

Typically, categorized archive pages have less content and are more repetitive. If these pages have low SEO value, it is recommended to turn off these options in the sitemap.

WooCommerce Products and Categories

Product and category archives for e-commerce sitesRich content can be included, and it is often recommended that a sitemap be generated for these pages to help search engines better categorize and present product information.

News, videos and local site maps (PRO version)

• News site map: For users who submit content to Google News.
• Video Site Map: If the site contains a lot of video content, enabling a video sitemap will help search engines discover the videos.
• Local Site Map: Site map for local SEO optimization, including geolocation information.

5. Submit Site Map to Google

After configuring the sitemap, you need to submit it to Google Search Console:

1. interviews Google Search ConsoleThe
2. In the sitemap section, add your sitemap URL (usually the sitemap_index.xml).

3. After submission, Google will start crawling your sitemap and future content updates will be automatically synchronized.

6. Fixed the 404 incorrect

Sometimes the sitemap will return a 404 error indicating that the page does not exist. This can be caused by a caching issue. You can:

• Clear WordPress site cache.
• Check the server configuration to make sure the sitemap files are accessible.

7. Add custom URLs to the site map

The following code allows you to add custom URLs to the sitemap:

phpCopy code
add_action('rank_math/sitemap/{$type}_content', function() {
  return '
  <loc>https://yourwebsite.com/custom-url/</loc>
  2023-01-01T12:00:00+00:00
  ';
});

This snippet should be placed in your theme-name/rank-math.php Documentation.{$type} can be replaced with post,page or other custom post types.

8. Frequently asked questions

• How do I get Rank Math to submit sitemaps automatically? in the event that Rank Math Connected to Google Search ConsoleIt will automatically submit the sitemap without the need to do it manually.
• Why isn't the sitemap updated? If the sitemap is not updated after posting new content, the sitemap may be cached. Please make sure the sitemap is excluded from the cache.

summarize

Rank Math provides powerful and flexible sitemap settings to help webmasters better control SEO crawling and indexing. When configuring the sitemap, focus on your website structure, content type and allocate the sitemap content as needed.