A new experiment from Google Labs allows sitemasters with a Google account to request more frequent spidering from the Mountain View-based search engine.
The children of Larry and Sergey call it Google Sitemaps, and it offers a simple way to fulfill a very desirable Google function. By using Sitemaps on a web site, that site can be indexed on request.
Site owners with lots of dynamically generated pages may still utilize Sitemaps. In the FAQ for the service, Google says a site owner can use the Sitemap Generator with a list of URLs to create the map. One possible source for those URLs would be an Apache access_log file.
Once created, a site owner who updates a site and the sitemap can login to Google, access the Sitemaps area, and click a button to request a new indexing. Google has made Sitemaps available as a free service; this is consistent with their practice of not charging for inclusion in the index.
Support for the service may be found in its Google Group online.
David Utter is a staff writer for Murdok covering technology and business. Email him here.
