Site map errors while setting up SEO

[jcrewe]

Hi there

I have paid a company to set up my site SEO and I just got an email that Google says there is a misconfigured XML and that my site map has tons of errors on it. Here is some of the email that they sent:

The sitemap that you have has a ton of errors attached to it. When I test it on Google it comes back as being a misconfigured XML file and there is no robots.txt file which is also essential for search. The errors came from a few website search engines that analyze the site once you register. I use them all the time and this is the first time they have ever said there was problems with the sitemap. How was it built did you use the Google Sitemap Generator? Where is the robots.txt file that goes with the sitemap?


I am still fairly new to using ZC, although I have learned a lot over the last little while, and have no idea how to answer their questions....I havent a clue how the ZC site map is even built.

Hoping someone is able to shed some light on this for me and help me through this so I can get my sitemap and site SEO set up properly.

Thanks so very much in advance

Jennifer

[DrByte]

The current version of Zen Cart doesn't supply any built-in robots.txt or sitemap.xml files. This lets you make your own choices about how you want to add those components to your site if you need them.

Any problems you're having with such tools on your site are related to the addons you've installed to do so.

[jcrewe]

Thank you Dr Byte for your reply

Just a couple of questions arise from your reply:

1) "This lets you make your own choices about how you want to add those components to your site if you need them." - So, how would one know how to add 'those components'? I am totally lost at how to create a site map

2) "Any problems you're having with such tools on your site are related to the addons you've installed to do so." - are you referring to any kind of add on or just an add on to create a site map? As far as I know, I dont have any add ons to create a site map. I do, however, have other add ons such as Recover Cart, Fast and Easy Checkout etc.

Thanks

[DrByte]

1. You would add that feature by using an addon or writing your own custom code if you possess those skills.
2. Most likely it's an addon you've added for that specific purpose. But it's quite possible that there are addons out there that serve multiple purposes. I'm not an expert on every addon that's been shared in the community at large.

[schoolboy]

You say you paid a company to do your "SEO"...

Have you been in touch with them?

I think the first thing you should do is demand a refund, because if their work is creating errors, then they clearly have no idea what they have done, and should not be going anywhere near your site.

There are a lot of "SEO Experts" around, and 99.999% can't even be trusted to boil a kettle of water - let alone work on something as complex as ZC.

The SitemapXML module by Andrew Berezin is the only one you can really rely on, so if they have installed something else, you are likely to have problems.

Can you find out from them what they have done, and when you talk to them, ask them to refund you at the same time.