Site Map generators & Google submittal Options

[Dr Z]

What are some opinions/comments on site map generators, such as:
http://www.freesitemapgenerator.com/
http://www.addme.com/ror-sitemap-generator.htm

And submitting the resultant site map to google?

[Brian Chandler]

Suck it and see... I can't imagine that an automatically generated "site map" can ever be like an intelligently written one, but it's better than nothing.

I don't understand what you mean about "submitting" to google. Once google indexes your site, it will index all the pages - it doesn't need a "site map" (and couldn't "understand" it anyway). I can't see why such a page should be a _problem_ with google, but it will contribute nothing, so might be best excluded.

[pandy]

The sitemaps are Google's own invention.
http://www.google.com/support/webmasters/b...py?answer=40318

Why have they changed their info pages? It hard to find what you want now and it used to be easy. They've also taken the darn localization further. I have specified in their prefs that I want to use google.com and that I want it in English. Now all of sudden when I click a link to one of the info pages I get some of them in Swedish and nowhere is there a link to change language.

[Dr Z]

Thank you both for your replies, which confirmed my opinions.

Now another question in the same direction..... If the main menu for the site (repeated in in each page) has a link to every page of the site, do you still have a need for a site map?

[pandy]

What are you thanking us for, Z? I don't think Brians comments were about Google Sitemaps and I only posted a link.

I have no experience, more than that I have generated a couple of map files for others long ago with God knows what tool, but I'd think it's safe to assume that what Google says about their own gizmo is true.

[Darin McGrew]

If the main menu for the site (repeated in in each page) has a link to every page of the site, do you still have a need for a site map?

It's hard to give a specific answer without a specific question. But here are a few thoughts...

If the site is small enough that it makes sense to link every page to every other page, then I can't imagine Googlebot needing a site map to find all the pages. And most people won't need a site map either.

On the other hand, once a site becomes large enough that linking every page to every other page no longer makes sense, then having a site map and/or a good search facility helps human users. The site map might even help Googlebot find all your pages more quickly, assuming that it finds the site map early, before it has found other links to all your pages

At some point, a site is large enough that a site map won't be usable by humans if it links to every page. Then, clear organization (perhaps with some redundant links) and a good search facility become critical.

Of course, if the "main menu" requires JavaScript, Java, Flash, etc., rather than using real links, then it's irrelevant to Googlebot (and to many human users).