google site maps yet again

[Markw]

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does anyone find that google sitemaps actually do anything, i have tried with and without:: and google sitemaps and google tends to cache my site around 7 days with or without the site map and doesnt cache new or old pages, it just does nothing in my eyes, i still have pages cached from may this year in supplimental results(80% of pages by the way) and doesnt even bother with new pages. is it worth the effort???
Mark

[stormdevil]

Like you I've tried with and without sitemaps. The only advantage I can see is that you can get lists of top searches and clicks and where your website came in the running.

It doesn't seem to get your site listed quicker or new pages indexed any easier. I lost a bunch of my pages to supplemental hell a while back and 3 months later Google hasn't realised they aren't there any more, since I split my site into sub-domains.

Toni

http://www.ok9.co.uk

[shakeitbaby]

I'm having the same problems too.

I changed the location of pages 3 months ago yet google keeps visiting them and won't index my new pages. I know that you should use 301 redirects but I can't do this as my site was built in Frontpage.

I tried "digging" some of my article pages using digg.com, I got those pages indexed in 2 days but then they were dropped.

I have also got some deep linking to new pages through article directories.

Now I am getting listings in quality directories like joeant.com in hope that this will get google visiting my site more and to a deeper level.

My site is www.shakeitbaby.co.uk

April

[ysc]

As far as I can tell it's impossible to say. Google makes itself so mysterious that a like for like, with or without is something you simply can't work out.

Whether it saves them on resources or it does actually make a difference, I don't know.

All I know is, on one of our sitemapped sites, it crawls and indexes new pages very quickly, but only to throw them out 48 hours later for no reason whatsoever.

[preventx]

I'm busy have my site redone with a sitemap and the way the site is layed out and constructed purely for google's benfit and hopfully the customer with a fresher feel.

work in progress! (feedback welcome - (no links will work)

http://www.fuse-media.co.uk/preventx/liquid4.html

This is the html page so far. If u scale your browser text size up or down
(press apple and +) youll see the whole site scales up or down (good for
accessibility etc..)

I think accessibility is key I have www.chlamydiahometest.com which compiles to W3C CSS which is doing great and I only do organic, while www.preventx.co.uk is losing rank fast!

I know some big companies have 2 to 3yr SEO plans, I can't wait that long....

[hawkwind dave]

I know some big companies have 2 to 3yr SEO plans, I can't wait that long....

How long has your site been live?

In my experience, one cannot expect to much from a website in at least the first 6 months (unless one goes affiliate/adwords/ppc), I advise my clients that it takes 12 months for a brand spanking new website to do well in the engines (that way, they're happy when they come in after 6 or 8 months).

IMO, a 2 to 3 year SEO plan is a sensible option. After all, we have to dance to somebody elses tune.