Over the next few weeks, we’ll take a look at the best one-source tool to learn and improve upon your standing with search engines: Google Webmaster Tools.
Google provides this tool…get this…for FREE…to anyone who takes the time to verify site ownership and create a Site Map XML file. Dedicating a little time to check data such as the search queries that listed your site, errors that Google’s bots encountered while indexing, and recommended improvements (delivered straight from the horse’s mouth) will undoubtedly improve your site’s performance with the proper adjustments.
Part 2: Site Configuration
The Site Configuration menu enables webmasters to configure their site preferences for optimal performance. Here you will let Google know what pages you want indexed, which you want blocked, how you want Google to return search results relevant to your site, and other similarly-themed configuration variables.Sitemaps
In the Sitemaps menu you will submit your sitemap feed to Google. Sitemaps are usually XML format, but can also be submitted at Google Zip files (.gz). Provided information includes the date that the sitemap file was last downloaded by Google and the current status, marked with a Green Check Mark, Red X, or Clock symbol signifying that Google is downloading the sitemap after it has been resubmitted.
Crawler Access
The Crawler Access menu will display the status of your Robots.txt file. This file allows you to limit the pages on your site that Google and other search engines index. By setting rules for bots and pages that you would like to allow access to, you are essentially setting permissions as the 'gatekeeper' of your online property. Although Google provides a tool to test your Robots.txt file; and if you don't have a robots.txt file in your site folder, Google provides a utility to create one. Webmasters can even tell Google what pages they want to have removed from the search index, although there are rules Big G enforces before allowing you to do so.
Other Settings
In the Settings menu, Google provides several basic options including allowing you to set your preference as to whether or not to use the 'WWW' before your domain, and which geographic area you wish to target for search. If you have dynamic content on your site, you can also set Parameter Handling to tell Google how you want them to handle those troublesome session IDs which make multiple version of the same page available at various URLs. Google also walks webmasters through the proper steps for moving a site to a new domain, and provides a tool for testing.Miss the Last Post in teh Series? Visit Google Webmaster Tools Part 1: The Dashboard
Check back soon for Google Webmaster Tools Part 3: Your Site on the Web (Now available)