sitemap.xml
A `sitemap.xml` file is an XML file that helps search engines understand the structure of a website. It provides a list of the pages on the site, making it easier for search engines to crawl and index the content.
Here’s a basic structure of a `sitemap.xml` file:
```xml
http://www.example.com/
2023-10-01
daily
1.0
http://www.example.com/about
2023-10-01
monthly
0.8
http://www.example.com/contact
2023-10-01
yearly
0.5
```
### Key Elements:
- <urlset>: The root element that contains all <url> entries.
- <url>: Represents a single URL on the website.
- <loc>: The location of the URL.
- <lastmod>: The last modified date of the URL.
- <changefreq>: How frequently the page is likely to change (e.g., daily, weekly, monthly).
- <priority>: The priority of the URL relative to other URLs on the site, on a scale from 0.0 to 1.0.
### Benefits of Using a Sitemap:
- Improves SEO by helping search engines discover pages