[#155836076] add sitemap manual page draft

drafts/2018-03-15-sitemaps.md

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+---
+layout: post
+title: Sitemaps
+category: manual
+tags: sitemaps
+---
+## What is a sitemap?
+A [sitemap](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sitemaps) is an XML file containing a list of the URLs on a website. Sitemaps are created by webmasters to tell search engines what URLs on a website should be searchable. Sitemaps may also provide additional metadata about each URL, such as the last modified date.
+
+Example: [https://search.gov/sitemap.xml](https://search.gov/sitemap.xml)  
+
+## Why should I use a sitemap?
+A sitemap provides information that allows a search engine to index your website more intelligently, and to keep its search index up to date.
+
+## Does search.gov use sitemaps?
+Yes! Search.gov uses sitemaps to tell us what URLs should be in our index and when a URL has been updated. Sitemaps are also used by [Google](https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/156184), Yahoo, Bing, and and other search engines.
+
+## What should my sitemap look like?
+Please refer to the official [sitemaps protocol](https://www.sitemaps.org/protocol.html) for information on how a sitemap should be structured.
+
+## What metadata does Search.gov require for each sitemap URL?
+The sitemap protocol defines [required and optional XML tags](https://www.sitemaps.org/protocol.html#xmlTagDefinitions) for each URL. Search.gov recommends including the `<lastmod>` value (the date of last modification of the file) whenever possible, to indicate when a file has been updated and needs to be re-indexed. (We do not have plans to support the `<priority>` tag, which is [no longer used](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-priority-change-frequency-xml-sitemap-20273.html) by search engines like Google. We may support the `<changefreq>` tag in the future, but the `<lastmod>` tag is more accurate and supported by more search engines.)
+
+## How can I create a sitemap?
+Most content management systems provide tools to generate a sitemap and keep it updated. Below are some tools that we recommend:
+
+### Drupal
+[XML Sitemap Module](https://www.drupal.org/project/xmlsitemap)
+
+### Wordpress
+[Yoast SEO Plugin](https://wordpress.org/plugins/wordpress-seo/)
+[Google Sitemap Plugin](https://wordpress.org/plugins/google-sitemap-generator/)
+
+### Wagtail
+[Sitemap Generator](http://docs.wagtail.io/en/latest/reference/contrib/sitemaps.html)
+
+### Github Pages (Jekyll)
+[Jekyll Sitemap gem](https://help.github.com/articles/sitemaps-for-github-pages/)
+
+### Online generators
+(Note: free online generators often have a limit to the number of URLs they will include, and do not always generate the most accurate sitemaps. Use them only as a last resort.)
+
+[Free Sitemap Generator](https://freesitemapgenerator.com)    
+[Web Sitemap](http://www.web-site-map.com/)    
+
+## How do search engines find my sitemap(s)?
+Sitemap URLs (or the sitemap index url) should be listed in your site’s robots.txt file, i.e.:  
+`Sitemap: https://www.agency.gov/sitemap_1.xml`  
+`Sitemap: https://www.agency.gov/sitemap_2.xml`  
+
+Example: https://search.gov/robots.txt
+
+## Sitemap checklist
+* One or more sitemaps have been created
+* The URLs in the sitemap have been reviewed (clean URLs, no URLs that should _not_ be indexed)
+* Each sitemap’s XML format has been [validated](http://tools.seochat.com/tools/site-validator/)
+* Each sitemap (or a sitemap index) listed in the site’s robots.txt file
+
+## Additional Resources:
+[Official Documentation from Sitemaps.org](https://www.sitemaps.org/)  
+[Google’s guide to building a sitemap](https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/183668?hl=en&ref_topic=4581190)  
+[Sitemap validator](http://tools.seochat.com/tools/site-validator/)  
+