Sitemap priority and change frequency are optional XML sitemap fields. They describe a page’s relative importance and expected update frequency, but Google ignores both.
So, are they worth your time? This guide explains what the fields mean, how to read or add them when needed, and which sitemap details deserve your attention for Google SEO.
Key takeaways
- Sitemap priority describes a page’s importance relative to other pages on the same site, using values from 0.0 to 1.0.
- Change frequency describes how often a page is expected to change. It does not set a crawler’s schedule.
- Google ignores both fields, so adjusting them does not improve Google crawling, indexing or rankings.
- Keep your XML sitemap focused on current URLs you want indexed, with accurate last-modified dates when available.
Understanding and defining sitemap priority
Before going further, it helps to understand sitemap priority meaning; it’s a value you assign to your website’s pages to tell a search engine how important one page is relative to another. Importantly, it doesn’t compare the values of those pages to the values of pages on other sites.
Think of it as a rating system for your sitemap, with a scale ranging from 1.0 (highest priority) to 0.0 (lowest priority).
Does a higher sitemap XML priority value ensure higher page ranking?
No. A higher priority value does not give a page a Google ranking advantage.
The priority field belongs to the sitemap protocol. It describes relative importance within your site, but support for optional fields depends on the search engine.
The other sitemap protocol tags are <changefreq>, <loc>, <lastmod>, <url> and <urlset> – one of those being quite important. Find out which below.
The importance of sitemap priority for SEO
Here’s the pickle, on Google Search Central you’ll find this:
Google ignores
<priority>and<changefreq>values.
Gary Illyes, an analyst on the Google Search team, adds:
What does that mean in practice? You can omit priority and changefreq without losing a Google SEO benefit. Adding them does not tell Google which pages to crawl first or how often to return.
Do not spend time adjusting these values to manage Google’s crawl budget.
The same applies to large websites with large sitemaps. Their size does not make Google use these fields.
One optional field Google does use is <lastmod>, provided the dates are reliable:
Google uses the
<lastmod>value if it’s consistently and verifiably (for example by comparing to the last modification of the page) accurate.
Use the date of a meaningful page change, such as a change to its main content, structured data or links. Do not refresh the date merely because the sitemap was regenerated or a copyright year changed.
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How to assign and add sitemap priority values
If you choose to include priority, first find your XML sitemap. For a manually maintained file, add the tag within each URL entry as shown below. If your CMS or plugin generates the file, use its settings or generation logic so your changes are not overwritten.
<url> <loc>https://slickplan.com/blog</loc> <changefreq>weekly</changefreq> <priority>0.7</priority> </url> <url> <loc>https://slickplan.com/</loc> <priority>1.0</priority> </url>
Assigning them is a lot like grading a test where each question represents a page on your website. The most important questions on a topic, i.e. those that are worth the most points, are like the homepage, category and product pages on your website.
If your sitemap creator supports these optional fields, you can include them in its XML output. Their presence does not guarantee indexing.
To sort each page’s value, analyze each one, determine its importance and assign a value based on the 1.0 to 0.0 scale we mentioned earlier.
The following are illustrative values, not required settings. Choose based on each page’s role rather than its type alone:
1.0-0.8: High priority
Homepage, product information, landing pages, category pages
0.7-0.4: Mid-range priority
News articles, weather services, blog posts, pages that no site would be complete without.
0.3-0.0: Low priority
FAQs, old news stories, old press releases, completely static pages that are still relevant
For example:
- Your homepage might receive 1.0 if it is the most important page in your own scheme
- Major category pages, product pages and high value content may get priority settings of 0.8
- Less important pages, like individual blog posts, might receive a mid value of 0.5
These values describe your own relative priorities. They do not communicate a crawl order to Google, and you do not need to maintain them for Google SEO.
Best practices for optimizing priority tags
If you retain priority tags for a documented use outside Google, keep the values meaningful and easy to maintain.
Prioritize the most important pages
Start with the pages that matter most to your site’s purpose. You might assign those pages higher numbers (0.8-1.0), but a page’s type alone does not determine its importance.
Use a consistent approach
Use a consistent scale across the website. Pages with similar importance can share a value, but not every blog post or product page needs the same score.
Priority tags should reflect site hierarchy
Use values that reflect each page’s role in your website. A category page may be more important than an individual product page, but that is a site-specific decision rather than a protocol requirement.
Update regularly
Maintain an updated XML sitemap as URLs are added, changed or removed. A priority value is not a freshness signal, so there is no need to change it simply because a page was edited.
Common mistakes to avoid with sitemap priority
The main mistake is treating an optional field as an SEO requirement. If you do keep priority values, make sure they describe useful differences between your pages.
Overusing high values
Not every page is the most important page.
Giving every URL the same high value does not distinguish one page from another. There is no advantage in setting everything to 1.0.
Treating priority as required
Leaving priority out is valid. Google has long explained that it does not use this field, including in the discussion below:
For another search engine or tool, check its current documentation before spending time on optional fields. Do not assume that protocol support means every field is used.
Sitemap priority vs. change frequency: What’s the difference?
Now let’s jump into change frequency.
Here’s how they differ: sitemap priority levels indicate the importance of pages, change frequency notes how often content is updated.
Google ignores both fields. Their availability in the protocol does not establish support by a particular search engine.
Understanding change frequency
Changefreq describes how often a page is expected to change. Its values range from ‘always’ to ‘never’, but it is not a command to crawl on that schedule.
If you include changefreq for a supported use, base it on the page’s actual update pattern. The examples below are illustrative, not fixed rules for each page type.
What are the 7 XML sitemap changefreq attributes?
1. Always
Use always for a document that changes each time it is accessed, not merely a page that is updated frequently.
2. Hourly
Use hourly when a page is expected to change about every hour, such as an hourly report.
3. Daily
Use daily for pages expected to change about once a day. A daily-updated listing may fit; an individual blog post may not.
4. Weekly
Use weekly for pages expected to change about once a week, such as a weekly schedule.
5. Monthly
Use monthly for pages expected to change roughly once a month, such as a monthly report.
6. Yearly
Use yearly for pages expected to change about once a year. Do not assume contact or “About” pages follow that schedule.
7. Never
Use never for archived pages not expected to change. It does not prevent a crawler from revisiting the page.
How to assign XML sitemap changefreq
If you need changefreq, add it within the URL entry just like priority. For an automatically generated sitemap, make the change in its source settings or code.
First, identify the tag, write the rate it changes using a value listed in the above section, and then close it out. You can always use a sitemap validator afterward to check your work.
<url> <loc>https://slickplan.com/blog</loc> <changefreq>weekly</changefreq> <priority>0.7</priority> </url>
Balancing sitemap priority and change frequency
Priority and changefreq describe different things: relative importance and expected update frequency. Neither should be used to promise a crawl order or indexing timetable.
Keep the sitemap’s URLs current instead. A sitemap can help search engines discover pages, especially on larger or more complex sites, but it does not guarantee crawling or indexing. See Google’s sitemap overview for when a sitemap is useful.
Tools and resources for managing sitemaps
Two useful tools for managing XML sitemaps are a sitemap generator and a submission tool such as Google Search Console.
Sitemap generators
You can avoid the time-consuming work of creating XML sitemaps by hand with an XML sitemap generator. Depending on which you use, it may automatically place the priority tags in the file for you.
Priority and changefreq are optional. A generator may include them automatically, but you do not need to add them for Google.
The sitemap protocol defines a default priority of 0.5 for any URL. It does not give the homepage a special default of 1.0; that would be a generator-specific setting or an explicit choice.
A visual sitemap can help you review the relationships between pages and plan your site structure. Just take that XML sitemap you generated and upload it to our visual sitemap generator and, et voilà, a cleanly visualized view of your site structure.
Google Search Console
Submitting a sitemap helps Google discover your URLs. It does not guarantee that every listed page will be crawled or indexed.
Make URL changes in the sitemap’s source, whether that is a manually maintained file, your CMS or a plugin. Search Console submits and reports on the sitemap; it does not edit the file for you.
Summary
Priority and changefreq are optional descriptive fields, not controls for Google’s crawler. You can leave valid, automatically generated values in place, but there is no Google SEO reason to add or tune them. Keep your sitemap’s URL list accurate and use reliable lastmod dates when available.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is priority in a sitemap?
Priority is an optional XML sitemap field describing a URL's importance relative to other URLs on the same site. Values range from 0.0 to 1.0, with a protocol default of 0.5. Google ignores this field.
How do I add priority to my sitemap?
For a manually maintained XML sitemap, add a priority element inside a URL entry, using a value from 0.0 to 1.0. For a generated sitemap, use the CMS, plugin or generator settings instead. Adding priority is optional.
What is sitemap change frequency?
Changefreq is an optional XML sitemap field describing a page's expected update frequency. Its seven values are always, hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, yearly and never. It is not a crawl schedule. Spend your effort on useful, high-quality content rather than treating this field as an SEO shortcut.
What is the difference between sitemap priority and change frequency?<br />
Priority describes relative importance within a site, while changefreq describes expected update frequency. Neither is the same as lastmod, which records when the page was last modified. Google ignores priority and changefreq.
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