Tag - Google

Just when you are getting used to a certain make-up,  Google decides to change things on us.  Of course, from a development and SEO perspective, this is to be expected, but with the addition of more services, the frequency of changes has progressively gotten faster.  I'm going to describe tonight the changes and how they can be helpful to the overall maintenance of your website. Top Search Queries The greatest improvement seems to be the most generic of them all.  Google Webmaster tools has become the META version of Google Analyticor.  This is great for those of us worried about "No Script"  giving false information. The only change to the console is that impressions have been added to the list and an inclusion of hit counts(clickthroughs) has been placed on the side.  The clickthroughs may frustrate those with a low traffic site, since they only show numbers for counts above ten... Otherwise you get a readout of <10 for the clickthroughs for that particular keywords. The graphic interface allows for better interaction and quicker information access for each keyword Que.  This information can be used as a rough guide for how relevant your site is as a hole for each of the keywords that the site competes for.  While some fight endlessly for certain keywords in PPC and other venues, they rarely think of an easy concept..."USE WHAT YA GOT". If your site is already competitive for certain keywords(and assuming they area actually searched....Checking them against the Google Adwords Keyword Tool would be suggested) strengthen the relevancy of these unforeseen gifts.  It may not have been your intention to rank well for these items, but why waste a good thing? If you already are ranking for these items, and developing content on them won't destroy the overall effectiveness of the site, then hit with more content relating to them.  The overall goal is to extend the reach of your website and to engage others with quality content.  By considering how man Impressions your site has received during specific Ques, the site can be introduced to a larger and broader audience. Engage Google Why wouldn't you want Google actively involved in a site that you wish to perform.  With every tool by Google that is used throughout your website, the bond between it and Goglebot's preferences will grow.  I was laughed at recently when I suggested this, but it only makes sense.   Having a base for the XML Sitemaps allows for direct interaction with the Bot.  While this may not be a relationship to write home to mother about, it is one that can spur growth between the bot learning your site and you learning the bot. With continued interaction, this new tool is certain to add to the effectiveness and usage of Google Webmaster Tools.  I still say the interface is looking like a bridge between Webmaster Tools and Analyticor, but maybe that's something they are considering.  Or, they want to keep things as I said, one in  META, one in SCRIPTS.  Either way, it's a tool that continues to grow and become more and more useful to the overall goal of Search Engine Optimization. On a side note, if anyone from Bing or Yahoo ever reads this, please make your Webmaster Tools more useful.  We want to use them, they just have limited uses right now. TY