GWT 101
October 22, 2012
While it sounds like the next big catch-phrase straight from the Jersey Shore, GWT actually stands for Google Webmaster Tools. GWT is the webmaster’s and site owner’s go-to place for important information pertaining to their sites and is considered to be one of the tools that should be utilized to help gain that coveted position on Google’s first page.
Google Webmaster Tools reports statistics and diagnostics pertaining to the management of your site’s pages in Google index. Why is being indexed so important? Well, when Google indexes your site, it sorts through every page and stores the resulting index in a huge database. If you’re not indexed by Google, don’t even think about getting ranked by Google. GWT is like Google’s (not so) secret handshake to access a bounty of information it has on your site. This includes the last time Googlebot successfully accessed your homepage to how Google picks up the incoming links to our sites. You can also view crawl errors, top keywords, sitemaps, and the most comprehensive free list of backlinks to your site.
GWT also gives you first-hand information on what Google is actually considering to be important when ranking. For example, we are beginning to see the increasing weight Google is placing on pages with Google Plus accounts, and you can now track +1 button activity through GWT. If you are beginning to seeing data (or the lack thereof) being collected by Google, you might want to make note (hint: install the +1 button on your site….now.)
While it can seem overwhelming at first, GWT is in invaluable SEO tool because it shows you exactly what you look like to Google and how it views the importance of your presence on the web. If it’s not on your weekly maintenance checklist for your website, it definitely should be.
Of course this does require regular maintenance, and while it isn’t rocket science, you certainly have to have your wits about you to use GWT effectively. That of course, is where an agency like SEOhaus comes in….We handle GWT for everyone of our 500+ clients ensuring that they are up to date on every aspect of Google’s requirements.
If you need help getting your business on track and ensuring you’re up to speed with the ever-changing Google, contact us here