Google SiteMap File

Generating a Google SiteMap File

 

Google provides a free service, named Google SiteMaps, that you can use to improve the way that Google indexes the pages on your website.

For example, you can use Google SiteMaps to discover which Google search queries have returned pages from your website and the ranking of your pages in Google search results. You also can use Google SiteMaps to view any problems that the Google crawler encounters when indexing your site.

 

You can sign up for Google SiteMaps by visiting the following URL:

http://www.google.com/webmasters/sitemaps

 

To use Google SiteMaps, You Must Provide Google With The Url Of A Google Sitemap File Hosted On Your Website.

The Google SiteMap file is an XML file that contains a list of URLs you want Google to index.

The Google SiteMap XML file has the following format:

 

Google Sitemap File

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> <urlset xmlns="http://www.google.com/schemas/sitemap/0.84">   <url>     <loc>http://localhost:2905/SiteMaps/Default.aspx</loc>     <lastmod>2005-10-30T03:13:58</lastmod>   </url>   <url>     <loc>http://localhost:2905/SiteMaps/Products/Default.aspx</loc>     <lastmod>2005-10-28T21:48:04</lastmod>   </url>   <url>     <loc>http://localhost:2905/SiteMaps/Services</loc>     <lastmod>2005-10-30T04:31:57</lastmod>   </url>   <url>     <loc>http://localhost:2905/SiteMaps/Employees/Default.aspx</loc>     <lastmod>1601-01-01T00:00:00</lastmod>   </url>   <url>     <loc>http://localhost:2905/SiteMaps/Products/FirstProduct.aspx</loc>     <lastmod>2005-10-30T03:43:52</lastmod>   </url> </urlset>

 

The Google SiteMap file contains a simple list of <url> elements that contain <loc> elements representing the location of the URL and <lastmod> elements representing the last modified date of the URL.

Note

The Google SiteMap file also can contain <changefreq> and <priority> elements. The <changefreq> element indicates how frequently a URL changes, and the <priority> element represents the priority of a URL relative to other URLs in your site. These elements are optional and are ignored here.

 

When you sign up at the Google SiteMaps website, submit the URL of the above file when you are asked to enter your SiteMap URL. The Google service retrieves your SiteMap from the handler automatically.

 

How to generate the ‘Google SiteMap XML file’ file automatically -

 

You can generate a Google SiteMap file automatically from an ASP.NET SiteMap. The below HTTP Handler generates a Google SiteMap File that conforms to Google's requirements for a valid SiteMap file.

 

HTTP Handler

<%@ WebHandler Language="VB" Class="PublicSiteMap" %> Imports System Imports System.Web Imports System.Xml Imports System.Text Imports System.IO   Public Class PublicSiteMap     Implements IHttpHandler       Private _xmlWriter As XmlWriter       Public Sub ProcessRequest(ByVal context As HttpContext) Implements IHttpHandler .ProcessRequest         context.Response.ContentType = "text/xml"           Dim settings As New XmlWriterSettings()         settings.Encoding = Encoding.UTF8         settings.Indent = True         _xmlWriter = XmlWriter.Create(context.Response.OutputStream, settings)         _xmlWriter.WriteStartDocument()         _xmlWriter.WriteStartElement("urlset", "http://www.google.com/schemas/sitemap/0.84")           ' Add root node         AddUrl(SiteMap.RootNode)           ' Add all other nodes         Dim nodes As SiteMapNodeCollection = SiteMap.RootNode.GetAllNodes()         For Each node As SiteMapNode In nodes             AddUrl(node)         Next           _xmlWriter.WriteEndElement()         _xmlWriter.WriteEndDocument()         _xmlWriter.Flush()     End Sub       Private  Sub AddUrl(ByVal node As SiteMapNode)         ' Skip empty Urls         If String.IsNullOrEmpty(node.Url) Then             Return         End If         ' Skip remote nodes         If node.Url.StartsWith("http",True,Nothing) Then             Return         End If         ' Open url tag         _xmlWriter.WriteStartElement("url")         ' Write location         _xmlWriter.WriteStartElement("loc")         _xmlWriter.WriteString(GetFullUrl(node.Url))         _xmlWriter.WriteEndElement()         ' Write last modified         _xmlWriter.WriteStartElement("lastmod")         _xmlWriter.WriteString(GetLastModified(node.Url))         _xmlWriter.WriteEndElement()         ' Close url tag         _xmlWriter.WriteEndElement()     End Sub       Private Function GetFullUrl(ByVal url As String) As String         Dim context As HttpContext =  HttpContext.Current         Dim server As String =  context.Request.Url.GetComponents( UriComponents .SchemeAndServer,UriFormat.UriEscaped)         Return Combine(server,url)     End Function       Private Function Combine(ByVal baseUrl As String, ByVal url As String) As String         baseUrl = baseUrl.TrimEnd(New Char() {"/"c})         url = url.TrimStart(New Char() {"/"c})         Return baseUrl + "/" + url     End Function       Private Function GetLastModified(ByVal url As String) As String         Dim context As HttpContext =  HttpContext.Current         Dim physicalPath As String =  context.Server.MapPath(url)         Return File.GetLastWriteTimeUtc(physicalPath).ToString("s")     End Function       Public ReadOnly Property IsReusable() As Boolean Implements IHttpHandler.IsReusable         Get             Return True         End Get    End Property End Class

 

Hope this helps.

 

Thanks & Regards,

Arun Manglick || Senior Tech Lead