Does sitemap.xml have to be on a different server?

[dharrison]

Hi

I am just getting underway with an SEO campaign for a client.

They have a CMS-based website and are only allowed a maximum of 10 pages, which they currently have.

Obviously I would like to create a sitemap to inform the search engines about the pages etc. My question is, does the XML sitemap have to sit on their server? Can it sit on mine instead as we cannot exceed the maximum number of pages at the current moment?

Any help would be gratefully received.

Thanks,

[wige]

It cannot. By the standard, a sitemap can only contain information about files in the same directory structure where the file resides (it's own directory, and subdirectories thereof). The theory is that if you have the access to that folder to upload a sitemap there, you have the access to make information about the files in that folder and subfolders public.

[Tim_Myth]

Their site is only 10 pages...why bother with a site map. Just make sure you have good internal linking and you'll be fine. For example, you could easily put a small nav bar at the bottom with nice friendly text links to the other 9 pages of their site.

[Topcat]

I agree with Tim_Myth. With only 10 pages, links should work fine. Although rather than use a nav bar, I think I would hyperlink to the page using keywords in the text.

[termspec]

hi there

just go with the internal linking, but then you can always build a free blog at blogger.com and post the links a few at a time in there to get indexed faster. plus your clients will have a fast and easy way to update information for their clients if they tell them where to find the blog.

[Topcat]

Good advice, Termspec. Especially with the client's limitation on pages, a blog would be an ideal choice for providing more content, as well as a boost in pr.

[incrediblehelp]

Just curious why only 10 pages?

[dharrison]

Originally Posted by incrediblehelp

Just curious why only 10 pages?

I have nooo idea IH. The web designer who designed his site and set up the CMS account has 3 levels available: 10 page, 15 or 25 (I think) and they pay a monthly charge.

I feel a little gentle persuasion coming on in the near future.

[sensei]

I'd advise your customer to change that CMS to be allowed to have as much pages as possible. Limiting himself like that is not going to help him succeed IMHO.

[seo4china]

Adding a footer menu with links to all the pages should help. You won't need a sitemap to have Google find all pages of a 10-page website.

[Conficio]

If you are bound to that CMS, I'm sure it does not allow you to post the propper sitemap.xml anyway.

I'd go with the full cross linking on every page and a different hosting provider/designer ASAP.

K<o>

[Webnauts]

As far I know you can host OAI-PMH on another server:
Webmaster Help Center - How do I submit my OAI-PMH path?

[Tim_Myth]

Not according to the text at the bottom of that page:

As with other Sitemaps, the URLs must be within the same site and at the same directory location or lower than the baseURL. For instance, if you add http://www.example.com/oaiserver as the baseURL, the following URLs would be valid:

Example Web Page
http://www.example.com/samples.html
http://www.example.com/images/
However, if you add http://www.example.com/dataprovider/oaiserver, then none of those URLs would be valid.

[Webnauts]

Originally Posted by Tim_Myth

Not according to the text at the bottom of that page:

Good point Tim. But I read at the OAI Initiative that they can be hosted on an Open Proxy Server.

I should look closer into this issue, as we are planning to setup a path soon.

[wige]

AFAIK, OAI-PMH files can be put on a remote server. It is the baseURL tag that is treated as the location of the sitemap file. The data in the OAI-PMH file can only pertain to file and folders in and under that baseURL.

[dharrison]

For everyone else's future reference, I have just been reading a recent development on Google Webmasters blog - Webmaster Help Center - Can I use the Google Sitemaps component of webmaster tools to submit URLs for my commercial websites? so long as you can prove you host / control the site.

HTH