I have example.com which I translated all of the pages in my domain to several languages, all on their own subdomain (e.g. es.example.com, cn.example.com, ru.example.com, etc.). The top level domain example.com is redirected to www.example.com where the English version is hosted. I have several questions:How should I list the translated pages in the sitemap (or maybe I shouldn't even list them)? Can I list them on the sitemap that is served on www.example.com/sitemap.xml or should I prepare a unique sitemap for each subdomain (es.example.com/sitemap.xml etc.)?According to the answer for the previous question, is there any damage using sitemap for multiple versions of the site? Should I just use a sitemap for the English version?
Sitemap for site with translations
seo;sitemap
First thing to have in mind is about content. If content is different from one to another language, then you should stick with subdomain solution (fr.domain.ext), but if it is just a plain translated version, you should use a subfolder solution (domain.ext/fr/).This because subdomain triggers and conflicts with site authority. That said I can go for your answers.If you are using subfolders, sitemap shouldn't be a problem. include everything into a single file (observing limits about sitemap file size). If you are using subdomains, then I think you can create a sitemap for each subdomain, and create a sitemap index file to aggregate them all and put it into the main site.EDITReferences:Subdomain versus subdirectoryHow should I structure my URLs for both SEO and localization?http://www.seomoz.org/blog/subdomains-subfolders-and-toplevel-domainshttp://www.seomoz.org/blog/understanding-root-domains-subdomains-vs-subfolders-micrositeshttp://guides.seomoz.org/chapter-9-myths-and-misconceptions-about-search-engineshttp://www.searchenginejournal.com/subdomains-or-subfolders-which-are-better-for-seo/6849/http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/Webmasters/thread?tid=53b7978b3ad1445e&hl=en