We are happy to share the news that we have just shipped an updated Sitemap engine! This is a completely new architecture that should keep Google very happy.
Hyperfocus on search engine optimization
Our first focus always has and always will be powering a home search for your clients that they will actually use.
You already know that we hate iFrames and subdomains as much as Google does. We render MLS data, search results, and hotsheets in a proprietary way that the content appears native to your website.
The way we render data on real estate websites is just one of the major ways that we help your real estate SEO. Another is sitemaps.
Details on the Major Sitemaps Update
We have just rolled out a major update to our sitemaps that will help expand on the search engine rankings (and indexing) that your websites get from using Showcase IDX.
Here are some key features of the new sitemap:
- Sitemaps now perfectly reflect the default search settings & restrictions. This means the exact listings that show up on your property search should be the ones in your sitemap.
- We recreate a base sitemap for your real estate pages every 24 hours.
- Incremental additions to your sitemap will include all listings since the last base and refresh every 15 minutes.
- Your sitemaps now load faster which should help with crawlers. There will be a slightly slower response time once per day when we do a full rebuild of your sitemap. Just know that we’re obsessed with page speed, which is why we’re by far the fastest IDX home search available. This is yet another way we’re helping to have Google love your site.
- Sitemaps now pick up MLS name changes if your MLS changes its acronym. We’ve seen more than a few large MLSs change names over the past year (e.g. MFR became Stellar MLS, etc.). Now, your sitemaps will update instantly after we roll out the MLS rebranding.
- Sitemaps now include comments so that you can more easily verify their contents. For everyone, sitemaps and the SEO side of things just work. For those agents or Certified Partner Agencies that want to dig into the technical side of sitemaps, there are comments and notes in them to provide you more insights.
- Miscellaneous bug fixes that improve reliability and robustness.
Next Steps
1) See the updates in your sitemap:
Your website has a XML Sitemap that you can submit to Google Webmaster Tools.
You can find the exact link from your Showcase IDX dashboard at https://admin.showcaseidx.com > Settings > SEO.
2) Submit your Showcase IDX sitemaps to your Google Search Console. Here’s a great article from Ahrefs about why that is important and how to do it.
