Google for Webmasters
Your site and Google
Ranking and Serving
Indexing
CrawlingDiscovering
Your content and GoogleGetting pages in (and out) of Google’s indexMaking your site accessible…And smartly labeled
How Google discovers your site
Organic links Add URL tool: http://www.google.com/addurl/ Sitemaps
Discoverability – Sitemaps
XML Sitemaps
Useful for:Dynamic contentWebsites with few incoming linksLarge archive of content pages
Provides Google with information on:When the site was last updated How often it changesThe relative importance of pages on your site
http://www.google.com/support/webmasters/bin/answer.py?answer=40318And http://www.sitemaps.org
You may wish to block from search engines…Private informationSections or pages “under construction”
Blocking options include…Robots.txt
http://www.google.com/support/webmasters/bin/answer.py?answer=35302
Meta tagshttp://www.google.com/support/webmasters/bin/answer.py?answer=93710
NOTE: Not to be used simultaneously to block the same set of pages.
Telling Google what not to index
Accessibility is a critical component of web sites, enabling…
Effective crawling by Googlebot
Browsing and interacting on a mobile device
Understanding of content by the sight-impaired
Understanding accessibility
Accessibility and Googlebot
Googlebot is good at crawling text:HTMLPDFs, docs, txts, etc
More challenging for Googlebot:
Images and moviesDynamic and rich content: Flash, JavaScript, frames, or dynamically generated URLs
Advice: View your site in a text-only browser:
Making your images more accessible
<img src=“googlebot.jpg” alt=“googlebot with flowers”>“Googlebot -- what a dreamboat. It's like he knows us <head>, <body>, and soul.”
Describe the important content of each image in text
Use alt-text
Descriptive file names
Dynamic & media rich content suggestions
Design for accessibilityFocus on usersMultiple browsers
Mobile phoneScreen readers
Design with progressive enhancement
Navigation in HTML, then add your rich contentExample: YouTube
For best uses of Flash:http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com/2007/07/best-uses-of-flash.html
For best uses of Ajax:http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com/2007/11/spiders-view-of-web-20.html
Importance of titles and descriptions
HTML Code:<title>Google Webmaster Central</title>
Duplicate content
What is duplicate content?
Example: article and printer version of the site
Best practices:301sPreferred domain featureRobots.txt file
For more helpful tips:http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com/2008/09/demystifying-duplicate-content-penalty.html
Ranking – Relevance and importance
Sites listings are prioritized algorithmically according to pages’…Relevance
Matching the search to the pageTaking into account geographyIn some cases, considering a user’s web history
Importancehttp://www.google.com/technology http://www.google.com/history
Pigeons (http://www.google.com/technology/pigeonrank.html)
Understanding PageRank
Now just one of more than two hundred ranking componentsBased more upon quality (rather than quantity) of incoming and natural links
Buying or selling links to pass PageRank is against Google’s Webmaster Guidelineshttp://www.google.com/support/webmasters/bin/answer.py?answer=66356
Best methods to increase PageRank:Create great contentParticipate thoughtfully in relevant communities online and offline
Fluctuations in PageRank and ranking
Rankings fluctuate! (Hundreds of ranking signals, with over 450 updated last year alone)
Algorithmic updatesChanges in your site’s contentsChanges in other sites’ contentsViolation of Google Webmaster Guidelines
Keeping your site strong: Webmaster Guidelines
Put yourself in your users’ shoes
Treat Googlebot the same way as your human users (don’t cloak!)
Make sure outgoing links point to relevant resources that reflect well on you
Read our Webmaster Guidelines:http://www.google.com/support/webmasters/bin/answer.py?answer=35769
Google’s resources for webmastersGoogle’s official blog, help center, discussion group, and beyond
Webmaster Central aims to provide relevant resources and tools to help webmasters get the best experience with Google.
http://www.google.com/webmasters
Webmaster Central
ToolsSubmit your content to GoogleBlog Help Center DocumentationDiscussion Group
Webmaster Tools – An insider’s view of your site
Google Webmaster Tools provides you a free and easy way to make your site more Google-friendly. Using this tool, you and other site owners can:
Get Google’s view of your website and diagnose potential problems
See how your site is performing
Add a Sitemap
Webmaster Tools – Helping Google help you
Communicate with Google
Adjust crawl rates
Delete outdated sitelinks
Report spam and paid links
File a reconsideration request
Webmaster Tools – Discover more
Learn how to use Webmaster Tools more in depth:http://www.google.com/webmasters/edu/quickstartguide/index.html
Google Webmaster Central Blog
The Google Webmaster Central BlogOfficial Google communications directed at Webmasters
AnnouncementsNew FeaturesInformation on indexing, ranking, guidelines
English: http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com/ German: http://googlewebmastercentral-de.blogspot.com/ Chinese: http://www.googlechinawebmaster.com/
Google Webmaster Help Center
Hundreds of articles in more than two dozen languagesGetting started guides, tips, guidelines, and more
The Webmaster Help Group can be reached via the link in Webmaster CentralExperienced webmasters and Googlers answer your questions.
16 languages supported as of July 2008:English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Polish, Dutch, Swedish, Finnish, Danish, Russian, Hebrew, Hungarian, Turkish, and Chinese
Google Webmaster Help Group
Google Webmaster Central
www.google.com/webmasters
Other useful tools and resources
Google offers many tools and products that can help you better understand your site and enhance your users’ experiences.
Create and share compelling contentGain a deeper understanding of your site’s visitorsGet insight into your competitors and competitive space
Creating and sharing compelling content
Deeper understanding of your site’s visitors
Google Analyticshttp://www.google.com/analytics/
Discover where your visitors come fromLearn how they interact with your site
Website Optimizerhttp://www.google.com/websiteoptimizer/
Test different combinations of site contentIncrease visitor conversion rates and satisfaction
Research and keep track of your market
Trends – http://www.google.com/trends
Reader – http://www.google.com/reader
Alerts – http://www.google.com/alerts
http://www.google.com/options
Thank You