Google and my sitemap

[proactivator]

Hi,
I have a ror.xml site map on my site http://www.jamesbartondesign.com/ror.xml and have submitted it to google. When I checked it google flagged up an error as:

line4: missing xml tag, please addit and resubmit.
Anyone out there know how I should correct this? Thanks.

[Marincky]

Re: Google and my sitemap

I had exactly the same problem: I tried this below and it appears to have fixed it:

Provide a brief statement describing your RSS feed
by adding a "<description></description>" element as a sub-element of
the <channel></channel>" element.


Example: The top of your feed html will look like this... (add the bit in red as I have, obviously changing the words for your site description)

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!-- This file is a ROR Sitemap for describing this website to the search engines. For details about the ROR format, go to www.rorweb.com. -->
<rss version="2.0" xmlns:ror="http://rorweb.com/0.1/" >
<channel><description>enter your brief description here</description>
<title>ROR Sitemap for http://www.yoursite.co.uk/</title>
<link>http://www.ukweddingstore.co.uk/</link>
<item>

Apparently this is not an error anyway, it's a 'missing item' which if I am correct is not essential to make your sitemap work correctly.

I believe that Google do not use the Channel or Description elements so not sure why they insist it is used?

[proactivator]

Re: Google and my sitemap

Hi Marinicky,
It sounds as if your problem was exactly the same. So, in brief description if I put "manufacturers of statuettes for the Military and Emergency Services" that would be brief enough?
Many thanks for your help and insight re google. I would have found it hard to pick that up.
Regards,
James.

[Marincky]

Re: Google and my sitemap

To be honest I am not sure of the length requirements and I don't think it needs to be that exact. Maybe ' manufacturers of Military statuettes@ might suffice?

[Karen Mac]

Re: Google and my sitemap

I believe that Google do not use the Channel or Description elements so not sure why they insist it is used?

Its used if you rss your xml which many do and then PING to let them know its been updated. They will still read it on a spider with or without it.

Karen

[proactivator]

Re: Google and my sitemap

Nice to know it will still be read, Karen. Have done as you said, Marinicky, and all seems OK now. Thank heavens for this forum and all the help people give to us newbies.
Thanks to both of you.
James.

[killianpsi]

Re: Google and my sitemap

Hi. I'm a newbie with this, and I apologize if I am doing this incorrectly or if I am supposed to create my own thread- I don't know. Anyway, I was wondering: I published my website this morning, and it's not showing up in the Google searches I'm making. Am I doing something wrong? Please help! Thanks.

[Karen Mac]

Re: Google and my sitemap

LOL.. OH THE TEMPTATION!

Lets stop and think this thing thru. There are 10 gajillion million websites on the internet, and google gets around to them all eventually, but you publish this morning, and say.. wow how come google isnt beating down my door yet? And, google does this on its own, and you didnt pay it to come to you right?

So first.. you publish the site. Second, youve posted NO Link anywhere to it, where google MIGHT already be spidering, and I cant find your site, nobody here can find your site... so google cant either. Theres NO MAGIC LAMP TO LOCATE YOU!

Search engines follow LINKS to discover WEBSITES. Otherwise its like burrying a corpse on the moon. So you need to read up on Search Engine Optimization. Some say you need to SUBMIT, but.. Ive yet to SUBMIT manually to any search engine except DMOZ.

It can take weeks and months to get a search engine to visit you. I have it done with in days. You have to get your LINK out there by posting it in forums, trading links, submitting press releases, etc etc.

Karen

[killianpsi]

Re: Google and my sitemap

Thanks for the response! I didn't know about all that... sorry! But thanks for the help!