When working with Search Engine Optimization (SEO) tools like Google Webmaster Tools are very important. One of the most important things you can do when first setting up Google Webmaster Tools is submitting your sitemap.
What is a sitemap?
A Sitemap is an XML file that lists the URLs for a site. It allows webmasters to include additional information about each URL: when it was last updated, how often it changes, and how important it is in relation to other URLs in the site. This allows search engines to crawl the site more intelligently. Sitemaps are a URL inclusion protocol and complement robots.txt, a URL exclusion protocol. An XML Site map looks like
<urlset xmlns=”http://www.sitemaps.org/schemas/sitemap/0.9″>
<url>
<loc>http://allamericancomputerrepair.com/</loc>
<lastmod>2013-10-18T08:50:08Z</lastmod>
</url>
Google first introduced Sitemaps in June 2005 so web developers could publish lists of links from across their sites. Google, MSN and Yahoo announced joint support for the Sitemaps protocol in November 2006. The schema version was changed to “Sitemap 0.90”, but no other changes were made.
Google uses the data in your Sitemap to learn about your site’s structure, which will allow us to improve our crawler schedule and do a better job crawling your site in the future. In most cases, webmasters will benefit from Sitemap submission, and in no case will you be penalized for it.
The video below show how to submit a sitemap to Google Webmaster Tools.