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If I search Google for a term or my site name, Google returns the URL sitename.com/sitemap.xml on the first or second page of the results.

I want the main site to return in the results and not the sitemap.

Simon Hayter
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John
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1 Answers1

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To remove the sitemap.xml file from your SERP, follow the steps outlined here: Google Webmaster Tools - Completely remove an entire page

To prevent this from being indexed again, add X-Robots-Tag: noindex to the header response for the URL to your sitemap.xml in your web server configuration, as indicated here.

An example for a .htaccess file for Apache would be:

<FilesMatch "sitemap\.xml">
Header set X-Robots-Tag "noindex"
</FilesMatch>
Simon Hayter
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dan
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    It is indexed for the keyword, so that's a matter of SEO to get it to rank higher. Have a look on this site for how to improve your SEO and rank in Google, like this question. – dan Aug 27 '13 at 19:44
  • @Octavian Ristea Thanks - one thing I noticed looking at your site regarding SEO is that the term "Hipholic" only appears in the title of your home page and is not visible in the content. If you want to be ranked higher, your content should reflect what you're trying to be ranked for - so it might be a good idea to add that to your visible content. – dan Aug 28 '13 at 04:39
  • Yeah I was thinking the same exact thing. I just don't know where to put the keyword Hipholic on the homepage right now. I have it in the footer, but I'm not sure where to make room for it in the content.

    If I add "Hipholic" in the same place as "Mixtapes" on this page http://hipholic.com/category/mixtapes/ to the homepage, then it would be a bit repetitive. The logo would say "Hipholic" and then so would the text right under it.

     – John Aug 28 '13 at 15:50