A `sitemap.xml` file is an XML document that provides information about the pages, videos, and other files on your site, and the relationships between them. It helps search engines like Google to crawl the site more intelligently.
Here’s a simple structure of a `sitemap.xml` file:
```xml
http://www.example.com/
2023-10-01
monthly
1.0
http://www.example.com/about
2023-09-15
yearly
0.8
http://www.example.com/contact
2023-10-01
monthly
0.6
```
In this structure:
- <url>: Represents a single URL entry.
- <loc>: Specifies the URL of the page.
- <lastmod>: Indicates the last modification date of the page.
- <changefreq>: Suggests how frequently the page is likely to change.
- <priority>: Indicates the importance of the page relative to other pages on the site.
Creating a `sitemap.xml` helps enhance your site's SEO and ensures that search engines can access and index your content effectively.