***NOTE*** This module is a companion module to our Search Friendly Links! When using the "Short-style links" or "Directory-style links" option, you must have Search Friendly Links in order for this module to function properly!
The Search Friendly Store Map module creates a static HTML page containing search friendly links to all of the categories and products in your MIVA Merchant store. When you provide an HTML link to the Store Map from your home page, search engines will read the map and directed to catalog every product and category in your store.
The Search Friendly Store Map optionally uses short-style links in order to provide search engines with links that are more likely to be followed. When using a short-link style, this module should only be used with its sister-module, Search Friendly Links. The Search Friendly Links module understands the short links in the Store Map and interprets the short links so that your store links function properly. When used together, these two products greatly improve the possibility of having your storefront “spidered” by the search engines.
The Search Friendly Store Map optionally uses “directory style” short links which are then rewritten into Search Friendly Links using the Apache mod_rewrite commands described in the manual. This third (optional) style of link should only be used when Apache-style URL rewriting is available and the Search Friendly Links module is also installed. This format should provide optimal spidering, as all products and categories are seen as “static html” pages via the Store Map.
Key Benefits:
Generates a static HTML Store Map page from your MIVA Merchant site
Static HTML page contains links to all category and product pages in your MIVA Merchant site
All links in the Store Map are optionally “Search Friendly”
The Store Map page can be provided to search engines for “spidering”
The Store Map can be broken down into pages of a size determined by the site owner
The Store Map page can be made available on your website to give customers a quick way to navigate through your site
Map Headers and Footers are configurable so map can serve as a “splash page’
Static HTML “directory” style links using .htaccess rewriting:
ie: http://www.store.com/page/Store/Screen/Cat/Prod
Inserts a LINK tag in the HTML HEAD section of your MIVA Merchant storefront
LINK tags tell a search engine to read the static HTML page and catalog all the category and product pages in the store map
Allows you to re-generate the static HTML page with the click of a button when you add more products or categories to your MIVA Merchant storefront
Create an updated list of your category and product pages on the HTML page
When search engines “spider” the static HTML Store Map page created by the Search Friendly Store Map module, they will see every product and category in your store. The short links lead the spiders down to the actual, dynamic pages in your MIVA Merchant site and the search engines can then catalog the dynamic pages. In essence, you are using a static HTML page that is easy to update and automatically uses short links to lure the spiders deep into the dynamic pages of MIVA Merchant.
***NOTE: When using either of the optional links (Short-style links or Directory-style links) this module must be used in conjunction with its sister-module, Search Friendly Links. A mod_rewrite rule is required when using directory style links. Please consult your hosting provider to see if mod_rewrite is supported to determine if this link style will be available to you.
