When to Compare Website Sitemaps?
Comparing sitemap files is an essential practice for SEOs and webmasters during:
- Website Migrations: Confirm that all URLs from your legacy sitemap map to active redirects or new destinations on the destination sitemap.
- CMS Upgrades: Verify that moving from platforms (like WordPress to Shopify or custom Next.js) did not drop crucial indexing URLs.
- Competitor Audits: Compare current sitemaps with historic records (via WayBack Machine) to pinpoint newly created content hubs or deleted directories.
Understanding the Comparison Outputs
- Added URLs: Links that are newly introduced in the Second Sitemap (Sitemap B) which were absent in the First Sitemap (Sitemap A).
- Removed URLs: Legacy pages present in the First Sitemap (Sitemap A) but dropped from the Second Sitemap (Sitemap B). These could indicate redirects or orphaned pages.
- Common URLs: Core website paths that remained unchanged and present in both documents.
