Jim,
With awstats statisctics zeroed out, I already received a 404 error becuase I didn’t have sitemap.html, yet I’m using your sitemap.xml for my site. If I add a sitemap.html will the robots of the big search engines look for both html and xml sitemaps and choose the xml over the html when they see the xml? I didn’t put an html sitemap in becuase I thought it would cause problems or undo the xml.
Thanks,
Roger
Just because you see a 404 does not mean it’s your problem.
For example, if you click on this link:
yoursite.com/ice-fishing.htm
This will produce a 404 error in your log file.
It does not mean you are supposed to have the webpage, only that someone tried to follow a link that does not exist.
So, you don’t need sitemap.html – but, no, it would not interfere with your sitemap.xml file. You can use both, or just one (any one actually for smaller sites).
Hope that helps.
Regards,
Jim.
Jim,
At awstats, via Bluehost, at the end it lists the counts of the errors. On the chart is the count of 404 errors. Where the term "404" is, "404" is a blue link. If you click on it a chart comes up and in this case there’s one entry and it’s "sitemap.html". So it’s a file not found and that file is sitemap.html. Right? So can I assume that some search engine was looking for sitemap.html on my site and didn’t find one? Isn’t it a problem if a search engine is trying find sitemap.html on my site and I don’t have a sitemap.html? Or are you saying any search engine looking for sitemap.html is also looking for sitemap.xml, which I have.
Thanks,
Roger
Can you post the line of the 404 error?
Regards,
Jim.
Jim,
………….Required but not found URLs (HTTP code 404)
………URL (1)…………………Error Hits……………………….Referers
…./sitemap.html………………….7…………… …………………- ……
Thanks,
Roger
It does not tell the referrer, so we have no idea of where it is coming from.
Do me a favor, check to see if you have an error for ice-fishing.htm?
Thanks!
Jim,
No such file on my site, nor text on my website, nor did I use it for a useragent nor skipuseragent.
Roger
Jim,
At Google under sitemaps thay have.
"You can add a Sitemap to your account to provide us with additional information about your site. We will process your Sitemap and provide information on any errors in the Sitemaps tab."
Does this mean only enter a Google sitemap? It gave a drop down menu with "add General website map".I enetered my sitemap.xml generated at auditmypc and got back
"Your Sitemap does not appear to be in a supported format. Please ensure it meets our Sitemap guidelines and resubmit."
Thanks
Roger
For Google’s sitemap, save it out as Google Sitemap rather than XML sitemap, then upload that file to your server, then tell Google where it is.
Regards,
Jim.
Jim,
Will having a Google Sitemap, an XML sitemap, and an HTM sitemap be practical?
I do have a 404 error about ice-fishing . Non of the address is realted to my site.
Thanks,
Roger
The 404 error on ice fishing is just because I made something up, typed it in with your website address and tried to view the page. You never created a page on ice fishing (I’m guessing
and it was a demonstration that just because it appears in your log files does not mean Google is looking for or expecting it.
I’m trying to show you that although it’s important to check out 404
‘s from time to time, it’s not something to worry over.
A Google sitemap is best for Google, the XML sitemap is best for Yahoo and other search engines that read XML sitemaps, the HTML sitemap can be read by everything and everyone.
So, if you wanted to use everything possible, then you would post your link to the html sitemap on your main page. Then for Google, submit only the Google sitemap. For yahoo and other search engines, use the XML sitemap.
Regards,
Jim.
Jim,
That’s great Info!
Thanks,
Roger
Jim,
You wrote, "if you wanted to use everything possible, then you would post your link to the html sitemap on your main page. Then for Google, submit only the Google sitemap. For yahoo and other search engines, use the XML sitemap."
and "For Google’s sitemap, save it out as Google Sitemap rather than XML sitemap, then upload that file to your server, then tell Google where it is.""
I generated an xml sitemap for my site with your sitemap generator a couple of weeks ago and uploaded to the root of my host as "sitemap.xml." I used your site to generate the google sitemap and it was saved to my desktop as New sitemap_google.xml. So what do you mean when you say, "save it out as Google Sitemap rather than XML"? When you say, "save it out as" do you mean that in your drop down menu under "save sitemap" choose "Google sitemap"? If so, the google sitemap is saved to the desktop as New sitemap_google.xml. Would I upload it to my webhost as sitemap_google.xml? and would I also ener it at Google’s webtools as sitemap_google.xml? It appears that the google sitemap is an xml file so "save it out as Google Sitemap rather than XML" is difficult to understand.
In other words, what is the exact file name you want us to use for the google sitemaps generated by your site – for both the root at the web host and the google webmaster toos site for sending in a google sitemap t them. Certainly they can’t both be "sitemap.xml"
Thanks,
Roger
Thanks,
Roger
Hi Roger,
The XML can be confusing, it’s just a language. When you select save as Google Sitemap, the webmaster tool will save a file that lists your pages in a way that Google understands *using* XML.
Yahoo only requires the information be in compliance with sitemaps.org, but it also wants it in XML. I should mention that when you choose XML Sitemaps from the save options rather than Google Sitemaps, you are making a sitemaps.org complaint sitemap (which Yahoo understands).
So, yes, you did this right, saved it out to your desktop and now you need to upload that file to your website and give it a name (anything you want as long as it ends in .xml). Then, just log into google and let them know where that file is located.
And yes, the name of the google sitemap you uploaded to your webserver will be exactly the same as the one you tell google about. Google will visit your site looking for the name of the sitemap file you gave them and expect to find it there.
You are not sending them a sitemap, you are telling them where your sitemap file is located.
Regards,
Jim.
So, the Google
Jim,
Why does the ice-fishing search at my site appear 19 times in my awstats and in Google web tools
" Web crawl [?]
This page lists URLs from your site that Googlebot had trouble crawling. Googlebot found these pages either in your Sitemap or by following links from other pages during a discovery crawl. Choose a category of errors to view:
actualcures dotcom/ice-fishing.htm 404 (Not found) [?] Mar 5, 2007
actualcures dotcom/sitemap.html 404 (Not found) [?] Mar 3, 2007
Roger
It could be from Google or by typing in. When you post on this forum as you just did with your links active, Google will find and follow them.
I would guess this is what happened.
It does not harm your site, but is a great demonstration as to why you can’t assume that each 404 is your problem – as we discussed in previous posts.
Regards,
Jim.
Jim,
I know what it is. I thought of it a couple hours after I wrote that question. In your first response to my first question of this thread you wrote it as a link, and it’s up to 19 because 18 of your forum visitors clicked on it. Sometimes I actually figure stuff out.
I’d buy you a sandwhich and a green beer if you were in town,
Roger
If I were in town, I’d tak you up on the sandwich and green beer
Regards,
Jim.