Google Sitemap Generator – Part Three

Auto-Submission of Sitemaps to Google, Yahoo, MSN and Ask.com Using the Google Sitemap Generator

But wait, there’s more! I wanted to update this series with a few more details about the Sitemap auto-submission feature built into the Google Sitemap Generator. Please refer to my two earlier articles for details, Part One and Part Two.

One of the best things about the Google Sitemap Generator is that it allows you to auto-submit the Sitemaps created by the software to other search engines. By default this feature, if you enable it, submits to Google, Yahoo, MSN and Ask.com. But, as you might expect, there is a catch!

Preliminary Steps to Auto-Submission Nirvana

Each of the four search engines handle this process a little differently. Below are the details:

Google

Google requires that you set up a Webmaster Tools account. The goods news is that if you’re managing more than one site, like I am, you can add them all to this single account and then manage them all from one account.

Here’ the URL to the Webmaster Tools: https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/.

Once you’ve created your Webmaster Tools account, add your site. After your site is added you need to “verify” it. That is done from Tools >> Manage site verification within the Webmaster Tools.

After you have verified the site, go to it within the Webmaster Tools and click on the Sitemaps tool for that site. Add the name of your Sitemap for this site, as generated from within the Google Sitemap Generator. 

Now you’re all set, you’re automated! From now on Google will use the Sitemap generated from the Google Sitemap Generator.

Yahoo

Yahoo handles this just like Gooogle. First you must set up a Yahoo Site Explorer account. Here’s the URL: https://siteexplorer.search.yahoo.com/.

Now you add your site and then verify it. To verify it click on the icon in the Status column to the right of the row your newly added site is shown in. This takes you to the verification tool. Verification, just like with Google, can be by uploading a specifically named file (the tool generates a unique name for you) or by adding a META tag generated by the Yahoo system.

Once your site is verified set up the Sitemap file as a “feed.” This is done by clicking on the site and then clicking on the Feed tool under that site. Add the filename of the Sitemap for the site as generated by the Google Sitemap Generator. Use the “Web Site Feed” format from the drop-down menu you will see there.

One again, you’re automated! Yahoo is set to use the Sitemap generated from the Google Sitemap Generator for this site.

MSN

MSN too requires an account and site verification. Here’s the URL: http://webmaster.live.com/.

During the process to add the site to your MSN account you can provide the URL to your Sitemap. After you have added the site you then need to go through the verification process.

Once the site has been verified, click on it from the site list and then click on the Sitemaps button. Click submit to do the initial submission of your Sitemap.

After that updates of the Sitemap for this site are automated by the Google Sitemap Generator!

Ask.com

This turns out to be the easiest one. Ask.com does not accept direct submission of Websites so they have nothing comparable to Google Webmaster Tools or Yahoo Site Explorer. 

Ask.com accepts Sitemaps directly from a “ping URL” feed. This is a technology protocol (ping) that allows information (in this case your Sitemap URL) to be transferred via a URL.

In short, you don’t need to do anything. Google Sitemap Generator builds the Ask.com URL, including the Sitemap name for your site, and sends it to Ask.com for you!

Adding Additional Search Engines

The Google Sitemap Generator Sitemap file submission tool also includes the capability to add a search engine to the list of those being auto-updated! I have not used this yet, but it appears that you simply get the ping feed URL for the search engine you wish to add and just drop it in here using the tool.

If anyone reading this has used this tool please drop a comment and let us know about your experience with it.

Robot.txt File Sitemap Submission

Sitemaps may also be deployed via your site’s robot.txt file. I’m noting this here to acknowledge this approach, but since this article is about the Google Sitemap Generator I am not covering this here. For more info on this see http://www.advancedhtml.co.uk/robots-sitemaps.htm.

I’d appreciate any feedback anyone else has on working with the Google Sitemap Generator.

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