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How do you add a sitemap to robots txt?
A sitemap is a file that lists all the important URLs on your website, making it easier for search engines to discover and index your content. Adding a reference to your sitemap in your robots.txt file is a best practice that helps search engines find your sitemap more easily.
To add a sitemap reference to your robots.txt file, follow these steps:
Locate your robots.txt file: This file is usually located in the root directory of your website (e.g., example.com/robots.txt). If you don’t have a robots.txt file, you can create one using a plain text editor like Notepad or TextEdit.
Add the sitemap reference: At the end of your robots.txt file, add a new line that starts with “Sitemap:” followed by the full URL of your sitemap. For example:
Sitemap: https://example.com/sitemap.xml
If you have multiple sitemaps, you can list them all, one per line:
Save and upload the robots.txt file: Save the changes to your robots.txt file, and upload it to your website’s root directory using an FTP client or your web hosting control panel, if needed.
Verify the changes: To make sure you’ve added the sitemap reference correctly, visit your robots.txt file in your browser (e.g., example.com/robots.txt) and check that the “Sitemap:” line with your sitemap URL is present.
By adding your sitemap to your robots.txt file, you make it easier for search engines to find and crawl your website’s content, which can ultimately improve your site’s visibility in search results.
FAQ
How to edit sitemap in WordPress?
In WordPress, sitemaps are typically generated by an SEO plugin, such as Yoast SEO, Rank Math, or All in One SEO. These plugins automatically create sitemaps for your website and keep them updated as you add or remove content. Editing a sitemap manually is not recommended because the plugins automatically manage it for you, and any manual changes could be overwritten by the plugin.
However, if you need to edit the sitemap’s settings or exclude specific content from the sitemap, you can do so through your SEO plugin’s settings:
For Yoast SEO:
Log in to your WordPress dashboard.
Go to “SEO” > “General.”
Click on the “Features” tab.
Find the “XML sitemaps” feature and click on the question mark icon next to it.
Click the “See the XML sitemap” link to view your sitemap.
To exclude specific content, go to “SEO” > “Search Appearance.”
Click on the “Content Types,” “Taxonomies,” or “Archives” tab to find the type of content you want to exclude.
Set the “Show in sitemap” toggle to “No” for the content you want to exclude.
For Rank Math:
Log in to your WordPress dashboard.
Go to “Rank Math” > “Sitemap Settings.”
Adjust the settings for different content types, taxonomies, or archives to include or exclude them from your sitemap.
You can also exclude specific posts or pages by editing the post/page and scrolling down to the “Rank Math SEO” meta box. Click on the “Advanced” tab and set the “Include in Sitemap” option to “Off.”
For All in One SEO:
Log in to your WordPress dashboard.
Go to “All in One SEO” > “Sitemaps.”
Adjust the settings for different content types, taxonomies, or archives to include or exclude them from your sitemap.
To exclude specific posts or pages, edit the post/page and scroll down to the “AIOSEO Settings” meta box. Click on the “Advanced” tab and set the “Include in Sitemap” option to “No.”
After making changes to your sitemap settings, remember to submit your updated sitemap to Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools to inform search engines about the changes.
Isaac Adams-Hands is the SEO Director at SEO North, a company that provides Search Engine Optimization services. As an SEO Professional, Isaac has considerable expertise in On-page SEO, Off-page SEO, and Technical SEO, which gives him a leg up against the competition.
