Google Introduces Sitemaps - Possible Issues and Future Modifications
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At least one blogger (Jeremy Zawodny) wondered why Google created a whole new system with XML rather than using ping services like Feedster and Technorati. Another blogger (Nathan Weinberg) believes that Google did so because such services would be woefully inefficient for the growth we can expect to see in the use of Google Sitemaps. Indeed, he stated his belief that many publishers do not like using ping services, or related RSS services, because of the control it forces them to give up, and that, for various reasons, RSS would be useless for Sitemaps.
Interestingly, though, according to Google’s FAQ about Sitemaps (https://www.google.com/webmasters/sitemaps/docs/en/faq.html), Google does support RSS. Indeed, despite creating an XML system, Google supports a number of formats for Sitemap submission, including the very simplest: a text file containing a list of URLs, with one URL per line. This might be inefficient –- and indeed, Google encourages webmasters to use its XML system –- but it does make the service more all-inclusive, and inclusion is, after all, the point.
In an interview with Danny Sullivan of Search Engine Watch, Shiva Shivakumar answered a question in a way that could raise potential concerns. The question was whether Google needs submitters of URLs to prove in some way that they are associated with the site for which they are submitting. Shivakumar responded that “We accept all the URLs under the directory where you post the Sitemap. For example, if you have posted a Sitemap at www.example.com/abc/sitemap.xml, we assume that you have permission to submit information about URLs that begin with www.example.com/abc/.” I don’t know if it is possible to hack such files, but if it is, this could be a security risk for any site using Sitemaps.
Another issue Sullivan raised was spam. Specifically, he wondered how Google would prevent people from using Google Sitemaps to spam the index in bulk. Shivakumar pointed out that Google is constantly developing new techniques for the management of index spam, and that those techniques would continue to apply with Google Sitemaps.
Finally, in the same interview, Sullivan wondered about Google’s future plans for Google Sitemaps. Would the company provide a reporting tool eventually, so that webmasters can tell what searches are sending them clicks? Shivakumar’s response was encouraging. “We are starting with some basic reporting, showing the last time you’ve submitted a Sitemap and when we last fetched it. We hope to enhance reporting over time, as we understand what the webmasters will benefit from.” He encouraged users to send the company ideas through the aforementioned Google Group covering Google Sitemaps.
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