Is Google SiteMaps really necessary?

[Dynaweb]

I really want lots of opinions on this.  Is Google SiteMaps really necessary?  Do you use their Sitemap Generator Tool or do you use a thrid party service like XML-SiteMaps.

[Dragonfighter]

Okay, I'll bite...what is a site map and why do I need one?  Yeah, I know, I'm a noob.

[zelo]

OK Sitemaps are exactly what they say they are... maps of your site. As an analogy, you are at Disney World and you want to know how to get around the park... you get a map to the park to know where to go.

Now... can you get around the park without a map... of course you can, but it is easier if you have a map telling you where to go.

Taking this analogy one step further, let's say Disney (http://go.disney.com) has the ability to know HOW everyone enjoys their parks and HOW people read maps (maybe more people need more points of reference while others like more pictures instead of text, etc...).

A Google Sitemaps is an XML file that is SPECIFICALLY for Google, to let them know where your files are in your web site... a tailor-made map to your park so to say.

Now as for the why.

Any well-designed web site should have the number one thing that all well designed web sites should have and that is proper navigation. That coupled with robots.txt files and .htaccess files should keep Google (and all search engines for that matter) on the right track.

So why use Google Sitemaps. The reasons are several:
1. Another line of assurity that Google knows what pages you want indexed.
2. WHEN you want each page indexed.
3. Changes are easily found. By reading one file, Google knows if pages are added/deleted/appended (this can also happen by using a regular sitemap).
4. Stats. By using Google Webmaster Tools, stats, inbound links, etc... are all recorded for you to help you better SEO/SEM your site. (there was one site I had where I found the INDEX page of the site was not getting indexed... bad news!).
5. You are playing by Google's rules not the other way around. It is like going to a client and the client says 'I want a report on your web site... all of its pages and changes, etc... AND I want it in this format and done in this manner'. Google is boss... we all just follow orders.

So it comes down to does it help or hurt to have Google Sitemaps.

The answer is cloudy. The clear answer is neither.

There is a possibility that Google Sitemaps is faster than Google indexing all your pages and alleviates Google missing your sitemap altogether (yes you should still have an HTML site map on all your sites on all your pages).

You do get some valuable feedback on your web site that you would not have gotten before.

You can control when Google follows which pages of the site. On parts of your site that are volitle (say a blog) then you want it spidered everyday, whereas a page that is never changed you may want to set to monthly (say your privacy policy, which again should be on every page and every site, but that is for another post).

Many of us use .htaccess, robots.txt, and have a site map. Google sitemaps are just another line of assurance that Google will be spidering those pages.

I would not expect any big jump in traffic, nor would I expect any traffic to go down because of Google sitemaps, but they are easy to use and manage and well worth the time/benefit tradeoff of actually putting them on there.

To start using Google Sitemaps head over here:
https://www.google.com/accounts/ServiceLogin?service=sitemaps&passive=true&nui=1&continue=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2Fwebmasters%2Ftools%2Fsiteoverview&followup=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2Fwebmasters%2Ftools%2Fsiteoverview

[Dynaweb]

I think Google Sitemaps thing is useful for if you are really picky about how/when Google indexes your pages, but for most sites, the natural/automatic process Google employs is sufficient.

[McGyver45]

When I use to design sites strictly in HTML/CSS I used Xenu Link Sleuth to create a site map page.  About a year ago I began switching some of my sites over to the Joomla CMS package.  I have not been concerned with a site map yet.  I tend to stay away from using 2nd party services for my sites.  The main site I get paid to maintain is in the first result on google using generic search terms.  I achieved that with meta tags and a proper title. 

McGyver45

[Marko8]

Hi. Here is the Sitemap generator I use.This is the most effective one among 5-6 programs I tried.
This powerful webtool generates the sitemap for your website in just seconds. Mayor search engines (Google, Yahoo, Ask, MSN, Moreover) are able to index and read your sitemaps without any problems. It's very easy to use!