This is not a ticket to a higher Google ranking (at least not that we know about); but it is a useful tool that lets you apply RSS-like control to your website's interactions with the Googlebot.

RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is the current heavyweight of so-called "disruptive technologies" (loosely defined as those that have the effect, if not developed with the intention, of changing the way we use technology in general) and its use is skyrocketing among content providers looking for a way to get their content in front of more eyes and ears. But RSS originally stood for Rich Site Summary, a standard way of cataloging your site's content for third-party aggregators.

Google Sitemaps have a similar function, in that they are an XML-based way to describe website content in a standard, predictable way; but they differ in that Sitemaps are intended for the Googlebot's eyes only, rather than for any third-party. Think of them as an automated way to make sure Google knows about your site's content (please note, however, that Google does not guarantee inclusion of your content based solely on the presence of a Sitemap file).

This sounds like a very specific undertaking, but the importance of Google to getting your site's content noticed can simply not be overstated. And with Google's expanding reach into more and more areas of Web content presentation, chances are that you can be assured that the information your Sitemap provides will eventually find some use you haven't yet thought about. That's what disruptive technology is all about, and Google has become one of the more innovative champions of such technological advances.