Frequently Asked Questions
What is an XML sitemap and why does it matter for SEO?
An XML sitemap is a file that lists all the important URLs on your website, helping search engines like Google discover and crawl your pages efficiently. Without a sitemap, Google relies on following internal links — which means orphaned pages or deep pages might never get indexed. For sites with 50+ pages, a sitemap is essential for ensuring complete coverage in search results.
How many URLs should a sitemap have?
A single XML sitemap can contain up to 50,000 URLs and must be under 50MB uncompressed. If your site exceeds this, use a sitemap index file that references multiple sitemaps. More importantly, your sitemap should only include canonical, indexable URLs — no redirects, no noindexed pages, no 404s. Quality over quantity.
Should every page be in my sitemap?
No. Only include pages you want search engines to index. Exclude: admin pages, login pages, paginated archives, parameter URLs, duplicate content, and pages with noindex tags. Including non-indexable URLs wastes crawl budget and sends mixed signals to Google about what's important on your site.
How important are lastmod dates in sitemaps?
Very important — but only if accurate. Google uses lastmod dates to prioritize which pages to re-crawl. If you set all dates to today (a common mistake), Google learns to ignore your lastmod data entirely. Only update lastmod when the page content actually changes. Accurate lastmod dates can significantly speed up how fast Google picks up your content updates.
How often should I update my sitemap?
Your sitemap should update automatically whenever you add, remove, or significantly change pages. Most CMS platforms (WordPress, Shopify, etc.) handle this automatically. If you maintain your sitemap manually, update it whenever you publish new content. Stale sitemaps with URLs that 404 or redirect waste crawl budget and reduce Google's trust in your sitemap data.