What is an XML sitemap?

An XML sitemap is a crucial tool for search engine optimization (SEO) as it serves as a roadmap of a website’s content. It is specifically designed to provide search engines with structured information about the pages, videos, and other files on a site and the relationships between them. By using this format, site owners ensure that search engines can more intelligently crawl their website, understand its structure, and index the content appropriately.

This format typically includes the URLs of the site’s pages along with additional metadata, such as when a page was last updated, how often the content changes, and its significance in relation to other pages. This information helps search engines prioritize crawling and indexing, which is essential for making the content available in search results.

In contrast, the other options describe concepts that do not align with the primary function of an XML sitemap. For example, a visual representation of a website's design does not convey the technical structure of the content. A tool for tracking online engagement relates more to analytics than to content organization. Lastly, a summary of a website's user interactions focuses on how users interact with the site rather than on how the site is structured for search engines.