How To Use WordPress SEO Tools
You might be in the infancy of your website or a seasoned SEO Pro, nevertheless it doesn’t hurt to familiarize yourself with SEO Tools. So, How To Use WordPress SEO Tools? More specifically WordPress XML Sitemaps.
Google and other search engines, such as Bing, use XML site maps to quickly access the website and see where other sites have been updated. As a bare minimum, you should have an XML sitemap; it would be even easier to apply it to Google and Bing’s Webmaster Software.
WordPress doesn’t come with an XML sitemap, so the best way to build a sitemap is to use a plugin. The best two plugins are Yoast SEO and Google XML Sitemaps. Both are free to download and use, and can quickly create a sitemap that is ready to be searched by search engines.
Yoast SEO
To check that the sitemap module is activated, hover over “SEO” on the left menu and then click “XML Sitemaps” and ensure that it’s enabled.
The default setting is perfect for most requirements and the sitemap index can usually be found at the following address:
Example.com/sitemap_index.xml
You have other options where you can also enable user sitemaps to include every author on your website. You can also set what type of posts you want to include, exclude specific posts, and edit taxonomy settings.
Yoast is an excellent choice because it comes with a whole host of SEO options for WordPress and can optimize every aspect of your website.
Google XML Sitemaps
This plugin does exactly what you think it should do and generates a Google-friendly XML sitemap. In certain instances, users who want to use Everything in One SEO Pack should typically use this plugin. All in One SEO Pack is a common alternative to Yoast SEO, but does not include an XML sitemap module. You’ll need to add one separately, and that’s where Google XML Sitemaps comes in.
This plugin has the same settings as the Yoast plugin, but it also comes with extra features. For example, you can ping major search engines about any changes you’ve made, and you can also set the goals and frequency of page updates to enable Google crawlers to go back to your website more frequently.
By example, the URL of the sitemap is:
Example.com / sitemap.xml
Google XML Sitemaps is a perfect option if you don’t use the Yoast SEO plugin.
After you have successfully set up your sitemap, you can send it to the major search engines. Both Bing and Google have Webmaster software in operation. Sign up and register your website, then apply your sitemap. You only need to upload site maps once, and search engines can send their crawlers back to your website and keep track of new or updated content.
Sitemaps are an important part of SEO and should be used at all times. WordPress doesn’t provide this feature out of the box, so the only way to build sitemaps is to use a third-party plugin. This is a easy answer to what could potentially be a big problem for your on-site SEO and one that shouldn’t be ignored.
