Google’s John Mueller and Martin Splitt lately discussed how HTML sitemaps may motionless be helpful for SEO equal although the XML norm has mostly replaced it.
Pre-XML Sitemap Era
Before the introduction of XML sitemaps, SEOs and location owners typically added inner and external links to new web pages to justify that they got crawled and started ranking.
They additionally added a nexus from the footer of the residence leaf (or all page) to an HTML sitemap anywhere a gigantic catalog of links to inner pages could be crawled and aid in getting those pages indexed. Most SEOs populated the HTML sitemap alongside all leaf on their location that was considered helpful to rank. Other pages, akin the About Us pages, were remaining off of the HTML sitemap.
It’s imaginable that Google was already using RSS feeds fine before the introduction of XML sitemaps. For example, a 2004 university research paper documented that RSS feeds could be used by web crawlers to acknowledge new and lately modified web pages and decrease crawling bandwidth by up to 40%.
But since RSS feeds weren’t universally implemented, they were apt impractical to use for crawl discovery. That’s likely why GYM (Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft) joined forces to concur on a sole XML sitemap norm that is used to this day.
HTML Sitemaps Not A Replacement For XML Sitemaps
During the way of their latest Search Off The Record episode, Martin Splitt asked if SEOs and location owners were locked into using XML sitemaps OR if it was fine to use HTML sitemaps.
Google’s Mueller explained that HTML sitemaps are not a replacement for XML sitemaps since they deficiency the structural features inherent in XML sitemaps.
He explained:
“Ah yes, HTML sitemaps. That I think is extremely confusing to the average individual since you likely cognize what XML is and what HTML is, but a lot of group whenever they open an XML file, they see those weird brackets and they’re like, oh, this is HTML or extremely similar, right?
It looks akin this weird programming stuff. And they’re called the same, but an HTML sitemap is basically nearly akin a map of your website for users. It’s not item that replaces an XML sitemap file.
Of course, if person is crawling your website and they discover an HTML sitemap file, they can crawl those links akin any another nexus on a website, so that’s helpful.
But it’s not the case that the HTML sitemap can be submitted as a sitemap file. It can’t be processed one-to-one the identical way as an XML sitemap document since it doesn’t have this strict construction to it. It’s basically a gathering of links.”
Google Explains How To Use HTML Sitemaps
Somewhat surprisingly, Google’s Mueller explained that HTML sitemaps can motionless be used. His answer implied deploying them as a part of a navigational scheme for users. Mueller used the example of an ecommerce site, but his answer can use to any benevolent of website.
In his example, an HTML sitemap enables location visitors to effortlessly attain the top-level merchandise (or topic) category pages from which location visitors can drill downward to a merchandise (or topic) they are curious in.
His answer was in reply to Martin Splitt’s question:
“But that motionless would assistance crawling since from this location we can discover all the links as well. It’s fair not as organized and apparent cut as an XML sitemap, I guess.”
Mueller offered this answer:
“Yes, absolutely. And it’s item I think that a lot of HTML sitemaps, they don’t contain everything.
So if you have an e-commerce site, you wouldn’t catalog all of your products in an HTML sitemap file. You would catalog perchance the categories so that group can go to the correct place, but afterward choice out the merchandise individually. So it’s similar, but not exactly the same.”
Should You Use HTML Sitemaps For SEO?
For several readers, this is a comparatively new idea. For others, the idea of an HTML sitemap power be perceived as old and outdated akin directory links or reciprocal nexus arrangements. And yet, Google’s John Mueller says that they can be helpful for users, which method HTML sitemaps could be helpful for Google.
If you’re going to do it, do it in a way that’s helpful for users, and you may discover that location visitors volition commencement using and recommending additional pages from the site, and Google volition choice up on those signals.
Takeaways
- HTML sitemaps have a lengthy former in SEO. Before XML sitemaps, they helped hunt engines detect pages and were used to allocate PageRank.
- HTML sitemaps are not replacements for XML sitemaps. Google explains that they assist distinct purposes, although the two can assistance crawling.
- Google confirms HTML sitemaps are motionless useful. They can enhance website navigation for users during assisting hunt engines detect pages.
- HTML sitemaps don’t need to merge all page. Google suggests organizing them about helpful navigation paths fairly than creating enormous collections of links.
- The SEO value of HTML sitemaps starts alongside users. Making websites easier to navigate can additionally advantage crawling and satisfied discovery.
Watch Google’s Search Off The Record at the 17 infinitesimal mark:
Featured Image by Shutterstock/Aleksandra Bataeva
