How many nodes in sitemap [#1437410]

I've been struggling for a while, trying to solve the "Googlebot found an extremely high number of URLs on your site" message from Google Webmaster Tools I received for a large site of mine.

Even after writing custom module for creating sitemap, I kept on receiving that scary message on monthly basis.

The other day, passing through Sitemaps Google Documentation, keeping in mind this boring issue, the very first sentence of [https://support.google.com/webmasters/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=156184] felt on my head, heavy as a stone:
"Sitemaps are a way to tell Google about pages on your site we might not otherwise discover..."

These questions came to my mind:
"Do I really need to create such large sitemaps xml files?"
and, "Maybe Google does not expects every node of mine inside my sitemap?"

Finally: "a simple last-hundred-nodes sitemap would be enough?"

Very interested in your thoughts about this

Augusto

Comments

Comment #1

Anonymous (not verified) commented 13 February 2012 at 13:06

I gave up on trying to satisfy "Google Webmaster Tools". A sitemap.xml file should contain all links accessible by the public. Google is often considered supreme being of the internet and it just isn't true. Just make sure your site contains good information and quit trying to be "on top" of the search pages. It is a constant loosing battle ground; it is obvious that not every one can fit on top.