Do You Use Google Webmaster Tools?
I admit, I’ve only recently taken the plunge to install the little code on my site that allows me to use Google webmaster tools. It was in fact a good friend who recommended I take a closer look. I’ had heard of them in the past but forgot all about it again, until a couple of days ago.
To get started, you can visit the Google Webmaster Tools homepage and type the URL of your website. Google will ask you to verify that the site is yours. You can do that in two ways. One is to add a meta tag to your first page and the second is to upload a HTML file via FTP with some code Google provides you with.
I choose the second and within 1 minute I was able to access my full site stats. To help you get started you can also watch this video from Matt Cutts.
Once you have verified your site, you can access various stat features to give you a detailed look at how your website performs.
The diagnostic tool allows you to find errors, such as:
- Not found
- HTTP errors
- Unreachable URLs
- Timed out URLs
- Restricted URLs
- URLs not followed
Knowing what is happening at the back end will serve you better in your marketing efforts. Once you are informed about a potential problem, you can go and fix it.
Statistics will provide you with a in debt overview of what brings people to your site. You can learn about the search terms in which you rank for on Google and which of those bring you the most traffic.
You can also see your site in the eyes of Google Bot. This is important to determine your strategies. Index stats give you some ideas on how your site is indexed.
The links section provides details on how many site links you have, both internal and external.
The sitemap feature allows you to add a Google approved sitemap to your site. This is beneficial for SEO purposes and can provide Google with additional information to help you.
Finally, the tools section has a range of additional goodies to have you spend some interesting time, looking at information you didn’t even know existed.
All in all, Google Webmaster Tools is a fabulous addition to any webmaster who wants to keep track of his sites performance.
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September 9th, 2008 at September 9, 2008, 6:55 am
Does the google code work if you have rotating pages or do you have to have a static homepage for google webmaster tools to work.
September 11th, 2008 at September 11, 2008, 10:29 pm
@ Jon: That is a good question and to be honest i don’t know the answer to this. However, you can verify your page in two ways. One is to insert code into every page you have on your site and the second, easier way is to upload a HTML file that Google gives you.
You will be told straight away whether your attempt was successful. I don’t see why it shouldn’t work that way and suggest you give it a go. Since it is free, you have nothing to lose.