Thread: An SEO’s Introduction to Google’s Webmaster Tools (with pictures)

http://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/


1. Signing UpIn order to use Google’s Webmaster Tools, you must first have an active Google Account. GMail, AdWords, Google Analytics and GTalk account logins can all be used for Webmaster Tools access.

If you do not already have a Google Account, you can sign up for one at: https://www.google.com/accounts/NewAccount

2. Logging In to Webmaster ToolsOnce logged into your Google Account, access your account homepage at: https://www.google.com/accounts/ManageAccount
Next, select theWebmaster Toolsarea by locating theappropriate link.



Note: You may need to “edit” your services first and then add Webmaster Tools to your account.

Adding Your Site
In order to access important information from your web site, you must first add your URLs to your Webmaster Tools account.
To do this, use the form on theDashboard view of your GoogleWebmaster Tools account.



Tip: Use the www. prefix if you prefer to have sitelistings with “www” in the search results.

Verify Your Site
Now that you have enrolled in Webmaster Tools, you must confirm that you have administrative level access to the site.
This process is used to ensurethat Google only providesinformation to those who havedirect access or control overthe site.



You can verify your site byplacing a custom META tag onyour homepage or by uploading a blank HTML file to your site.

AccountOverview

Overview of Tools
Once verified, you should now have access to a number of tools through the left hand navigational menu. Those tools include an Overview, Diagnostics, Statistics, Links, Sitemaps and Tools.

At this moment in time, youare viewing your Overviewscreen.


Overview of Tools (cont’d)
While viewing the Overview screen, some information can immediately be gathered. The graphic below illustrates the two areas that we recommend you review on a regular basis.



You can quickly see how often Google is coming through your site as well as review top search terms to your site.

Account Diagnostics

Diagnostic Tools
Diagnostic tools provide us with three important areas for SEO purposes. The Web crawl, Mobile crawl and Content analysis areas provide us withcritical feedback straight fromGoogle.
These tools are the gateway toreview potential HTTP Errors, areas of your site excluded viarobots.txt, and even any contentproblems that Google feels theyhave encountered.


Diagnostic Tools: Web & Mobile Crawl
The web and mobile crawl areas show any sort of problems that Google has encountered while trying to spider your site. If areas of your site are being excluded via the robots.txt file – this is where notes on those exclusions would become available.



Diagnostic Tools: Content Analysis
Google offers a review of your content and alerts you to any potential problems they see with your pages, page titles, META tags as well as any problematic content.
In the example provided,Google has alerted us topages that may need tohave META Descriptiontags revised.


AccountStatistics

Statistics
Google provides account statistics including Top Search Queries, Crawl Stats, Subscriber Stats, Index Stats – and a glimpse of What Googlebot Sees on your site.

For SEO purposes, let’sfocus on Top SearchQueries, Crawl Stats &What Googlebot sees.

Statistics: Top Search Queries
The top search queries report shows what Google sees as the most productive search terms for your web site. This list can be used to measure general effectiveness with SEO, especially as local andpersonalized searchresults continue to rollout to your market.
This report allows you toalso track progress fromprevious weeks andmonths.



Statistics: What Googlebot Sees
This area of Webmaster Tools allows you to quickly see what keywords Google sees both on your site, as well as linking in to your site.
The benefits of this informationfor SEO purposes includes theability to track inbound links, effectively manage & measurekeyword density and overalldepth of content.


Statistics: Crawl Stats
Reviewing crawl behavior is a great way to determine the perceived authority of your content.
The screen shot provided hereshows how Google will classifycontent based on the PageRank algorithm. The information shownin this report also includes whatGoogle sees as the most importantpages. This is often used to tracklink popularity efforts.



Statistics: Index Stats
The “Index Stats” from Google here are nothing more than advanced search operators that are also available outside of Webmaster Central.
Site owners can use these commands to track how many pages are indexed on a site, how many backlinks are reported, last cache dates and related information on pages of your site.


Statistics: Subscriber Stats
Subscription statistics are also available if your site provides RSS feeds for the sharing or syndication of content. In most cases, these tools are only used for blogs and discussion boards.
Please also note that usage of this tool requires integration with FeedBurner, an RSSbroadcasting companyrecently purchased byGoogle.


Account Links

Account LinksEffective Search Engine Optimization (SEO) requires inbound link efforts. Google’s Webmaster Tools offer an in-depth view of how Google views links to your web site.
Here in the Account Links section, you can view three types of reports: Pages with External Links, Pages with Internal Links, and Sitelinks – a new enhancement available to standard Google SearchResults


Account Links: External LinksAt the core of link popularity is inbound links. Inbound links are from sites outside of your domain that link into your web site. This is seen as a favorable relationship benefiting your site and SEO efforts.
These reports in WebmasterTools should be downloadedon a regular basis (monthly ispreferred) for the purpose oftracking efforts over time.


Account Links: Internal LinksThe effective use of internal link structures allow you to promote the most important pages of your site using internal links – or links from your domain to specific pages in your site.
As with external links, these link reports should be downloaded on a regular basis to measure the impact of internal link changes made over time.


Account Links: Site Links In an effort to provide those searching for your brand with more immediate resources – Google has now launched “Site Links”. Site Links can be blocked (in the event a page is promoted that you do not want featured) – but you can not specify pages to have Site Links used for.


GoogleSitemaps

Google Sitemaps Google Sitemaps are either plain text or XML documents used to inform Google of pages and URLs you would like indexed on your domain. Using the Sitemaps protocol, you can also specify the importance of your page, the frequency in which it is updated, as well as if you have special indexing needs for Video, Mobile, News or Code based content.
Start by using the “Add a Sitemap” link as shown tothe right.



Google SitemapsFor more information on the Google Sitemaps protocol, as well as how to automate theregeneration of yoursitemap files, pleasereview the followingresource:
http://www.google.com/support/webma...&answer=34654



AccountTools

Account ToolsThe final area of Webmaster Tools are the account tools. These account tools can be used by web site owners to analyze robots.txt files, to establish ageographical region, manage image searchefforts, set crawl ratesand even remove URLsfrom the Google Index.



Account Tools: Analyze Robots.txt Robots.txt files serve as a directory for spiders to use while indexing content on your site. You can specify folders and files that spiders cannothave access to. Googleprovides their data andindexing information fromyour site here. You canalso test specific URLsusing the rules in yourrobots.txt to helpensure full indexing.



Account Tools: Manage Site Verification As indicated earlier, you must verify that you have direct access to your web site. This area of the tools allow you to see anyone else who may have access to the site, as well as the methods used from them in securing access. It is strongly recommended that only ONE Webmaster Tools account is verified per domain.



Account Tools: Set Crawl RateThe information available in this tool can be used to plan and time updates specifically for SEO purposes. Over time, you can recognize clear trends in crawling cycles. Using this, you can then plan updates within a day or two of your next assumed crawl, which significantly decreases indexing time. An example is provided below.


Account Tools: Set Geographic TargetLocal Search results have become more prevalent in Google’s standard search results. As a result, this tool has been provided to give site owners the ability to target specific geographical regions for each domain.



Account Tools: Set Preferred Domain Different businesses have preferences on whether or not the “www” prefix should be used in their address. To help provide complete control over how your site appears in the search results – Google has provided this option to establish a preferred domain for your listings in their search results.


Account Tools: Remove URLs Managing an SEO campaign in Webmaster Tools is as much about removing URLs as itis including them. TheRemove URL tools shouldbe used only after you haveremoved the content (ifpossible) or included theMETA NoIndex tag. Youshould also block the contentfrom Google via the robots.txtfile before using this service.

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I am glad we got an SEO expert

wow. great post. Unfortunately I know most of them so no good for me. I wish I had seen that few months ago. But I am sure this will be useful to many here.

Great knowledge share...