Despite the fact that many webmasters complain about Google, the company does its part in helping people succeed online.
With Google Webmaster Tools, you have everything you need to do the following:
- Build a website that is search engine friendly
- Track links and social data
- Increase traffic
- Review the overall health of your site
According to Search Engine Journal, Webmaster Tools has recently undergone the following changes.
Sitemap Assistance
Since day one, users have been able to submit their sitemap through their Webmaster Tools account. However, a recent upgrade displays new features complete with updated graphics.
With this new setup, you are now able to test your sitemap before it is uploaded. In short, this allows you to get rid of any errors before your sitemap is crawled.
Broken Links are No Longer a Pain
No matter how much time you put into your website, it is safe to say that broken links are going to show up from time to time. In the past, your Webmaster Tools account would only inform you of these broken links.
Now, you have the ability to find these links – based on their exact URL – so you can fix them immediately.
This image shows the number of broken links on a sample website, over the course of three months.
Search Queries and Click Through Rate
It is one thing to know how your website is performing. It is another thing entirely to gather information on search queries and click through rate – this is directly related to the way your site is perceived by others.
With this information, you can see how many times your keywords are showing up in the search results. Better yet, you can see how many times your listing has been clicked.
As you can see in the following image, this feature can help you analyze trends over an extended period of time.
Final Word
If you aren’t using Google Webmaster Tools you are leaving a lot of information on the table. To learn more about the latest updates and features, check out this article from Search Engine Journal.