Sitemap Configuration

The Linking Configuration page lets you set up your sitemap so Lovarank can discover your existing content and create relevant internal links.

Accessing Linking Configuration

Click Linking Configuration in the sidebar to open the configuration page.

Understanding the Interface

The page has two main sections:

Source Configuration

Where you enter your sitemap URL and run detection.

Detected Links

Shows the results of your last detection scan.

Configuring Your Sitemap

Enter Your Sitemap URL

In the Source Configuration card:

1. Enter your full sitemap URL (e.g., https://yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml)
2. Include https:// in the URL

Run Detection

Click Detect Links to start scanning your sitemap.

The process:

1. Fetches your sitemap (and any nested sitemaps)
2. Extracts all URLs
3. Attempts to identify page titles
4. Stores results for linking

This may take a few moments depending on your site size.

Viewing Results

After detection completes, the Detected Links section shows:

Total Links Detected

The total number of URLs found in your sitemap.

Sample Pages

A preview of detected pages including:

• Page URL
• Page title (when available)

If your sitemap contains more than 10 pages, you'll see a message indicating additional pages were found.

Saving Configuration

Click Save Configuration at the bottom of the page to store your settings. This enables internal linking for newly generated articles.

Finding Your Sitemap URL

Most platforms generate sitemaps automatically:

WordPress

• With Yoast: yoursite.com/sitemap_index.xml
• With Rank Math: yoursite.com/sitemap_index.xml
• Default: yoursite.com/wp-sitemap.xml

Webflow

• yoursite.com/sitemap.xml

Shopify

• yourstore.com/sitemap.xml

Ghost

• yourblog.com/sitemap.xml

Framer

• Check your site settings or try yoursite.com/sitemap.xml

Manual Check

Open your browser and visit yoursite.com/sitemap.xml. If a sitemap exists, you'll see XML content listing your pages.

Sitemap Types

Lovarank handles different sitemap formats:

Standard Sitemaps

Single XML files listing all URLs. Works directly.

Sitemap Indexes

Files that reference multiple sub-sitemaps. Lovarank follows these references to discover all URLs.

Nested Sitemaps

Complex structures with multiple levels. Lovarank recursively processes nested sitemaps.

Updating Your Configuration

Re-running Detection

If you've added new content:

1. Return to Linking Configuration
2. Click Detect Links again
3. Results update with newly discovered pages
4. Save to apply changes

Changing Your Sitemap URL

If your sitemap location changes:

1. Enter the new URL
2. Run detection
3. Save configuration

Best Practices

Use a Blog-Specific Sitemap

If your main sitemap includes many non-blog pages (products, contact, about), look for a blog-specific sitemap:

• WordPress: /post-sitemap.xml (with Yoast)
• This focuses internal links on relevant blog content

Keep It Current

Periodically re-run detection to capture new content. Monthly updates work well for most sites.

Verify Accessibility

Ensure your sitemap is publicly accessible. Some security plugins block XML files.

Troubleshooting

"Failed to detect links"

• Check your sitemap URL is correct
• Verify the sitemap is publicly accessible
• Ensure your site's robots.txt doesn't block sitemap access
• Try accessing the sitemap URL directly in your browser

Few or No Links Detected

• Confirm your sitemap contains blog/article URLs
• Check if your sitemap is empty or outdated
• Verify your CMS is generating sitemap entries

Detection Taking Too Long

• Large sitemaps with thousands of URLs take longer
• Complex sitemap indexes with many sub-sitemaps need more time
• Wait for completion—don't navigate away

Wrong Pages Detected

• Your sitemap may include pages you don't want linked
• Consider using a blog-specific sitemap if available
• Internal linking prioritizes relevance, so non-blog pages are typically not linked