A `sitemap.xml` file is an important component for SEO and helps search engines understand the structure of your website. Here’s a simple overview of what a `sitemap.xml` file typically includes:
- URL: The web address of the page.
- Last Modified: The date the page was last updated. This helps search engines know when to re-crawl the page.
- Change Frequency: How often the page is likely to change (e.g., daily, weekly, monthly).
- Priority: A value between 0.0 and 1.0 that indicates the importance of the page relative to other pages on the site.
Here is a simple example of a `sitemap.xml` file:
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
2023-10-10
monthly
0.7
When creating a `sitemap.xml`, ensure that it follows the XML format and adheres to the sitemap protocol. This will help search engines effectively crawl and index your site.