Author-sitemap.xml: What it is and how to use it

What is an author sitemap?

An author sitemap is a specialized sitemap that lists the pages associated with author archives on your site. Instead of a generic list of every post, it focuses on author-related URLs (typically author profile pages or author archive pages) so search engines can discover and crawl content by author more efficiently.

What it typically includes

• URLs for each author page, such as https://example.com/author/jane-doe/
• Optional metadata like lastmod, changefreq, and priority
• Sometimes limited to active or public authors

How it differs from a regular sitemap

A standard sitemap usually lists individual posts or pages; an author sitemap focuses on author-level pages and archives.

Why use an author sitemap?

An author sitemap helps search engines discover and crawl author content, improves crawl efficiency on larger sites, and can surface author pages in search results. This is especially useful for multi-author sites with many articles.

Benefits

• Faster indexing of author pages
• Improved visibility for author-related content
• Easier management of large author sets

When it’s most useful

• Many authors with many articles
• Frequent changes to author pages
• Complex site structure with pagination

How to create an author sitemap

Manual creation

A basic author sitemap follows the standard sitemap protocol. Each entry lists an author page URL with optional metadata like lastmod, changefreq, and priority.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<urlset xmlns="http://www.sitemaps.org/schemas/sitemap/0.9">
  <url>
    <loc>https://example.com/author/jane-doe/</loc>
    <lastmod>2025-08-01</lastmod>
    <changefreq>monthly</changefreq>
    <priority>0.8</priority>
  </url>
  <url>
    <loc>https://example.com/author/john-smith/</loc>
    <lastmod>2025-09-15</lastmod>
    <changefreq>monthly</changefreq>
    <priority>0.8</priority>
  </url>
</urlset>

Automated options

• CMS plugins: WordPress plugins like Yoast SEO or Google XML Sitemaps can generate an author sitemap (often at /author-sitemap.xml).
• Static site generators or custom apps: use sitemap libraries or scripts to generate an author-filtered sitemap.
• Ensure only public, crawlable authors are included.

How to submit

• Upload the file to your site root or reference it via a sitemap index (e.g., /sitemap.xml).
• Add a line to robots.txt: Sitemap: https://example.com/author-sitemap.xml
• Submit the URL in Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools.

Best practices for author sitemaps

Size and scope

• Standard sitemap files can include up to 50,000 URLs and be up to 50 MB uncompressed. For larger sites, use a sitemap index.
• Include only canonical, public author pages.

Accuracy

• Keep lastmod values up to date when author pages change.
• Ensure each URL returns a 200 OK and serves the canonical version.

Privacy and relevance

• Exclude private or unpublished author pages.
• Avoid duplicating content across author pages (e.g., identical author bios).

Frequently asked questions about author-sitemaps

• Are author sitemaps required?
• Not required, but they can help search engines discover and crawl author pages more efficiently on sites with many authors.
• Do author pages always appear in search results?
• Not guaranteed; indexing depends on many factors. An author sitemap helps discoverability, but rankings depend on content quality, signals, and relevance.
• How is an author sitemap different from other sitemaps?
• It focuses specifically on author-level pages and archives rather than individual posts or pages.