Mastering Google Webmaster Central
From site verification and crawl errors to newer tools and features, Google Webmaster Central is critical to the success of search engine optimization campaigns and keeping ahead of the competition.
From site verification and crawl errors to newer tools and features, Google Webmaster Central is critical to the success of search engine optimization campaigns and keeping ahead of the competition.
For most experienced SEOs, an article about mastering Google Webmaster Central might as well be titled “Mastering Breathing.” However, just like anything else, there are always new things to be learned, and you might find a few new trick in here. For newbies, or those who aren’t as experienced, then definitely read on and explore this important tool.
The first thing you need to do is verify your site. This is easy enough to do with an HTML file or meta tag. You’ll notice that each subdomain (including the “www”) is treated as a separate site to verify. Go ahead and verify these all as well so you can manage them.
While subdomains must be verified, one cool feature is that every directory of a verified site can automatically be verified as a separate site. Simply add the URL to the list of sites, and you can see, for example, who is linking to your “llama-sheering-tips” folder, what terms it ranks for, and geotarget it to a country (Peru, perhaps).
Once you’re verified, you have access to information on links, keywords, popular searches, and more. For beginners, you’ll especially want to make sure you’re taking advantage of:
As for the newer features, definitely look into these:
And that’s just Google. Bing and Yahoo both have Webmaster tools that you should sign up for and utilize as well.
Signing up for all three search engine tools has become a must when launching an SEO campaign. Don’t simply sign up and lose your password under a stack of mail though; check in regularly for any developments with your site and always be on the lookout for the availability of more new tools. Doing so will play a part in keeping ahead of your competitors.