FAQs: Sitemap for the Help Center | Zoho Desk

FAQs: Sitemap for the Help Center

Sitemap Purpose and Eligibility

What is a Help Center sitemap?
A Help Center sitemap is an XML file that lists publicly accessible Knowledge Base pages for search-engine crawlers, such as Googlebot. It helps search engines understand the structure of Help Center content and discover articles that might otherwise be missed during indexing.

The sitemap is intended for search engines, not for customers navigating the Help Center. Customers continue to use Help Center search, categories, and article links as usual.
Why should an organization generate a Help Center sitemap?
Generating a sitemap helps search engines identify the organization and availability of public Knowledge Base articles. This can support more complete indexing of customer-facing self-service content.

For example, if a Help Center contains troubleshooting, setup, and billing articles across several categories, the sitemap provides search engines with a structured list of the public article pages available for crawling.
Is creating a sitemap required for Help Center articles to appear in search engines?
No, Creating a sitemap is optional. Search engines can still index Help Center articles without one.
A sitemap is useful as an additional discovery mechanism, especially for organizations that want search engines to receive a structured view of their public Knowledge Base content. It does not guarantee a particular search ranking or immediate indexing.
Which sitemap format does Zoho Desk support for the Help Center?
Zoho Desk supports XML sitemaps for the Help Center.

Although sitemaps can also exist in HTML format, the Help Center sitemap process described here creates an XML sitemap for use by search engines.
Who can generate a Help Center sitemap?
Users need the Support Channels administrative permission to access the sitemap settings and generate an XML sitemap.
This permission is required because sitemap generation is configured from the Help Center’s SEO settings.
Can every Help Center generate an XML sitemap?
No, XML sitemaps can be generated only for domain-mapped Help Centers.

Before attempting to generate a sitemap, confirm that the Help Center uses a mapped custom domain. A Help Center that does not meet this condition cannot use the XML sitemap generation option.

Access Restrictions and Prerequisites

Why is the XML sitemap option missing from Help Center settings?
The XML sitemap option is unavailable when Customers must register to access Help Center is enabled.

This access model requires customers to register before accessing the Help Center, whereas an XML sitemap is intended to expose publicly accessible Knowledge Base pages to search crawlers.
Can a Help Center require customer registration and still use the XML sitemap option?
No, The XML sitemap option is not available under Help Center access settings when mandatory customer registration is enabled.

Organizations must decide whether their priority is a registration-gated Help Center experience or a publicly crawlable Knowledge Base sitemap. The available information does not specify an alternative XML-sitemap workflow for a registration-only Help Center.
Does a sitemap include private or access-restricted content?
No, The sitemap includes public articles available in the Help Center and excludes specific non-public or non-final content.

This prevents articles intended for agents, registered users, or internal review from being included in the automatic sitemap list.

Generating the Sitemap

How is an XML sitemap generated for a Help Center?
  1. Go to Setup > Channels > Help Center.
  2. Select the Help Center for which the sitemap is required.
  3. On the Rebrand page, select SEO in the left panel.
  4. Under XML Sitemap, click Generate Sitemap.
  5. Open the generated sitemap link to view its XML content in a new browser tab.
The generated XML file can then be used by Google and other search engines to crawl the public Knowledge Base.
What happens after the sitemap is generated?
Zoho Desk immediately creates an XML sitemap link. Opening that link displays the sitemap’s XML content in a separate browser tab.

The sitemap is then available as the Help Center’s structured list of public Knowledge Base content for search-engine crawling.
Does the sitemap need to be regenerated whenever an article changes?
No, The sitemap is automatically updated every five days.

This means administrators do not need to manually recreate it after every public-article publication, revision, or removal. However, the update is not described as immediate, so newly changed content may not appear in the sitemap until the next automatic update cycle.
Do new Zoho Desk customers need to generate a sitemap manually?
Not always. Customers who signed up for Zoho Desk after June 13, 2019 automatically receive an XML sitemap.

Administrators can still review the Help Center SEO settings to confirm that the sitemap is available and to obtain its link.

Sitemap Contents and Exclusions

Which Help Center articles are included in the automatic sitemap?
The sitemap includes all public articles that are available in the Help Center.

For example, a publicly available “Reset Your Password” article or “Configure Account Notifications” article can be included so search engines can crawl it.
Are articles for agents included in the sitemap?
No, Articles published for agents are excluded from the automatic sitemap. This ensures internal support guidance is not listed for public search-engine crawling.
Are articles available only to registered users included in the sitemap?
No, Articles published for registered users are excluded from the automatic sitemap. A sitemap represents public Help Center content. Content requiring customer registration is not included in the automatic list.
Are draft or pending-review articles included in the sitemap?
No, Articles in Draft or Pending Review status are excluded. An article must be public and available in the Help Center before it can be included. This prevents incomplete or unapproved content from being presented to search engines through the sitemap.
Are expired articles included in the sitemap?
No. Expired articles are excluded from the automatic sitemap. If an article is no longer current enough to remain published, it will not be listed for search-engine crawling through the sitemap.
Can an organization use the sitemap to expose articles intended only for a restricted audience?
No, The automatic sitemap is limited to public Help Center articles. It excludes agent-only and registered-user content, as well as unpublished and expired article states. Use the sitemap to support public self-service discoverability, not as a mechanism for making restricted Knowledge Base content available externally.

Search-Engine Submission

Does generating the sitemap automatically submit it to Google or other search engines?
The sitemap is generated for Google and other search engines to crawl. It does not state that Zoho Desk automatically submits the sitemap to each search engine. Organizations can submit the XML sitemap through the relevant search engine’s webmaster tools.
How can the sitemap be submitted to a search engine?
Submit the XML sitemap through the webmaster tools provided by each search engine. For example, an organization can use the relevant search engine’s webmaster solution to provide the sitemap URL and monitor its processing. The exact submission procedure depends on the search engine being used.
Is there an alternative to submitting the sitemap through webmaster tools?
Yes. Add a sitemap line to the Help Center’s robots.txt file as an alternative. This can be a practical option when the organization does not want to submit the sitemap separately through every search engine’s webmaster tools. The sitemap link should refer to the generated XML sitemap URL.

Operational Guidance

Does generating a sitemap guarantee higher search ranking?
No, The sitemap helps search engines discover and understand public Knowledge Base pages, but the available information does not state that it guarantees ranking improvements, immediate indexing, or a particular search position. Use a sitemap as part of a broader public-content strategy that includes accurate articles, clear titles, and current customer-facing information.
What should be checked before generating a Help Center sitemap?
Confirm the following:
  1. The user has Support Channels administrative permission.
  2. The Help Center uses a mapped domain.
  3. Mandatory Help Center registration is not enabled.
  4. Articles intended for search visibility are public and published.
  5. Draft, pending-review, expired, agent-only, and registered-user articles are not expected to appear in the sitemap.
  6. The organization has decided whether to submit the sitemap through webmaster tools or reference it in robots.txt.
Why might a recently published public article not appear in the sitemap yet?
The sitemap is automatically updated every five days. A newly published article may not appear until the next update cycle. Also confirm that the article is public and not in Draft, Pending Review, Expired, agent-only, or registered-user status, because those articles are excluded from the automatic sitemap.