If you have a new blog, and want to get indexed by Google, Yahoo, plus other search engines, thus improving search engine optimization, it’s apparent that a site map is imperative to install.

What is a site map? Think of a site map as a blueprint of your site. When you first generate a site map, it sends a message to the search engines, and the spiders, crawlers, and bots, “come and take at look” at what your site “looks like”, and what it includes. Each time you write and publish a post, a new site map is generated, and a new message is sent to the search engines, that you’ve “changed your blueprint”. This generates another visit from the search engines. In turn, your site gets updated in the search engine “files” and getting indexed, is the result.

Some reports claim, if you’re already getting indexed, a site map may not be necessary. However, why take a chance that a new post may not get indexed in a timely fashion.

Here’s a link to the site where I got my Google Site map Generator: Google Site map Generator by von Arne Brachhold

It’s free, easy to download, and a cinch to activate. After you have activated the plugin, and are looking at the “options”, if you’re not sure which boxes to check, just leave them the way they are. You can always make changes later.

I downloaded the 3.0b7 version, which includes the latest updates.

Thank you, von Arne Brachhold, for this great plugin.