Webmaster tools for SEO - Basic Information

Google helps with various tools for SEO  and the most popular as well as widely known is the Google Analytics. This helps with indepth analysis on how traffic can be improved on the site. In addition there are various web master tools which help the expert to plan as well as evaluate the search efforts.

Google Webmaster Tools 

View this video for more details!

Background

The Webmaster tools are used for good SEO support. This tells the expert as to which of the pages have been indexed and what links are being pointed to and of course the keywords that are most popular. Sites which have these tools allow the webmaster to see the site like Google does.

How do you use it

Once you get an account, you log into the dashboard and from there you can add the site. You will need to ensure that you own the domain and based on the host, there will be different verification processes which allow verification to happen in a few steps. There are other options as well and these are like a meta tag which is attached to the home page and where HTML files can be uploaded to the root folder of the site.

What features are popular

When you break down data you are able to formulate plans regarding what steps are needed. There are 5 main indicators of these search queries tools which are :

a) Query : Which informs you of where your site is ranked for certain keywords. It also helps you to identify words which are relevant but need more of a boost when it comes to content optimization

b) Impressions tell you what specific sections are being viewed.

c) Clicks inform you of how many people are clicking on the search result

d) CTR is the percentage of people who are clicking in the search results on your site. If these are low, the meta description needs to be improved and the content too needs to be more relevant to the queries.

e) Average position informs of what your site is ranked for each keyword

How to use the webmaster tools

In order to use the webmaster tools effectively, all the root domains need to be added and the subdomains as well. All subdirectories which target specific countries should be also added.

Sometimes Google Tools inform you to of important issues. These could be regarding problems with regards access to the site or crawl error increase, unnatural links, alerts for malware etc. You need to ensure that you set up the message forwarding so these can be emailed.

There are various resources which are there which can be accessed through help files.

You should also check if the keyword rankings differ on mobile versus non mobile devices.

You can use it to see that you have unique meta descriptions and title tags and that duplicate content on your site is removed.

There are sections where you can submit robot.txt files as well as also set preferred syntax for the domain which will be displayed. You can also see if there is malware which has infected the site.

Read my other blogs articles on SEO- A buzzing term in Web world and On- Page Optimization-Some facts to know  here

Jasni Salim

On Page Optimization- Some facts to know

In the SEO world, on page SEO optimization refers to the various factors which have an effect on your web page or web site’s listing in the search results. Some examples are meta tags, keyword density, keyword placements and HTML code. 

Rules to be followed 

• SEO needs you to view your content from different angles. You need to consider the limitations and preferences of search engines as well as the readers. 

• You need to create such headings so that they highlight your target keywords and also help in more understanding of the content. 

• Readers may not go through each and everything. So you need to break up your content to make it more readable. 

• Instead of stuffing the keywords, place them in strategic places in the content.

H1 – H4 tags

The <h1> to <h4> tags identify HTML headings. Header tags are significant factors in on page SEO as they communicate to search engines what the website is all about. These header tags support the purpose and theme of the page. The tags need to be used in the right order. 

• H1 tag – It should have the targeted keywords which relate to the title of the page and is relevant to the content.
• H2 tag – It is a subheading and should have similar keywords to the H1.
• H3 – H3 is a further subheading to the H2.
• H4 – similarly the trend goes on. It needs to be like a hierarchy; the first one being more important than the ones that follow.

Anchor Text Optimization

Anchor text optimization is a major step in on page SEO optimization as it will enhance the crawling of the google bots. The text which is clickable in a hyperlink is called the Anchor text. It needs to be related to the page to which you are linking to and not be generic. You would see blue and underlined anchor text; which is most common. Though, HTML code can be used to change the color or underlining. 

Image Optimization

Image optimization is another basic step for an on page SEO campaign. Images are a very important visual factor of any web page. If you use your images properly it can convey your message correctly; else the wrong ones can give a very erroneous feel. The most important factors are the title tag, alt tag, image name, image linking and image size. The Alt tag is maybe the most important factor. It stands for alternate. If an image takes too long to load or does not show up, the text contained in the alt tag is what is displayed instead of the image.  

Authorship Optimization

Authorship Optimization has exceptional SEO benefits. It is an excellent way to enhance your visibility, ascertain yourself as a person of authority and the best part is also get some extraordinary treatment from Google like an added bonus. The Google authorship program helps you in increasing traffic, improve the ranking of your website with Google as well as get quality links. When a Google Authorship is set up, your photo – that is your Google+ info would be shown next to the content in the Google search result. Such results are called rich snippets.

View my another post on Seo- A buzzing term in SEO world here

Jasni Salim

SEO- A Buzzing Term in the WEB World

Introduction

SEO is one buzzing term in the web world. But how much do you really know about it? Here we will try and get you familiarized with all the basic terminologies related to SEO.

SEO or search engine optimization includes the tactics, techniques or strategies which are used so as to increase the number of visitors to a particular website. This is done by achieving a high ranking place in search results page or what is called the SERP. Examples are Google, Yahoo, Bing and others.

How it works

The basic concept of SEO sounds very easy, but a lot needs to be done to make sure that your website makes it. You have to make it favorable to the visitor and meet all the standards set out by the search engines. This essentially means that your website needs to be usable, fast, informative and clean; then comes in proper marketing as well as public relations to make your content interesting.

Crawling

Crawling or web crawlers are kinds of software which are used to discover web pages that are publicly available. The most popular web crawler is Googlebot. These have a look at web pages and follow the link to those related pages – pretty much how an individual would browse through any particular content on the web. These crawlers go from one link to another and bring back the data about these web pages back to the servers.

Caching

The cache status suggests the participation of the web crawler on your website. If a crawler is regularly visiting your website and is updating its database with whatever updates show up on your website, this means that your website is being cached. However, if your website is not shown in cache; this means that there is something that you are not doing right. Your website needs to be cached so as to have effective SEO.

Indexing

After a search engine is done with processing each page that it has crawled, it composes an index of everything it sees and the location on every page. It is basically like a database of web pages. This is stored, organized and the algorithm then measures the importance as compared to like pages. Both Google and Microsoft have about a million servers.

On-page and Off-page SEO

On-page SEO is the method by which individual web pages are optimized so that they rank higher and get more meaningful traffic on the search engines. On-page generally refers to the content as well as the HTML source code of the page whereas Off-page points towards the external signals and links.

There are numerous on-page factors. Of these the content is the most important. This is what brings a page the results it is looking for. Good content needs to be linkable and also be able to supply to a demand. Title tags are the next most important factor. Next we come to the URL – the URL needs to show the hierarchy of the categories of the website.

As opposed to on-page; off-page SEO points to the activities that are performed outside the website like social media marketing, social bookmarking and link building.

Evolution of SEO

As far as SEO is concerned tactics that were once working in the earlier years are not longer fruitful. Strategists have been pushed into developing new techniques and solutions so that clients are served better.

Content specific – There was a time when all you had to do was flood a website with keyword based content. It didn’t matter whether it really made sense. But now, people need a site for the people; something that they would be eager to stick with maybe really read and comprehend and relate and possibly link to as well. It is now said that quality content is like being the King.

Quality Link specific – Links were always a key factor in getting search engine rankings. But this has also changed over the years. Earlier the entire concentration was on the quantity of links. It is no longer like that. It is now all about quality. Sites that are related to your own site and links from convincing and commanding sites are given more weightage. Search engines also prefer natural link profiles. This should have a proper combination of link types like follow as well as no follow.

Equity pass and Passing the juice concept

Equity links are kinds of links which basically pass on value from one page to another page. These links can be external or internal. Link juice is a slang used in the SEO world which relates to the equity or power which is passed on to a particular site through links from internal or external sources. This is basically construed as a recommendation for your site and is probably ‘the’ most important aspect which determines the ranking of your site.

Page rank

Google is pretty much the king of search engines and it is the leader which determines which website is most pertinent for terms and search words. So if you are looking to get noticed then you should aim at improving your Page Rank. The Page Rank is ascertained by a mathematical formula which counts each link to a particular website in the form of a vote. This basically means that your website is matched up against other websites which have similar keywords or content like as in a popularity contest. The website which has the most valuable links naturally gets a higher ranking.

Pogo sticking

Pogo sticking refers to the act when a user searches for something, clicks on his find and then quickly goes back to the search result page and goes on to another result. This happens as he finds that the site that he opened is not what he was really looking for and moves on to another link or search result.

Bounce rate

Most confuse Bounce rate with pogo sticking. However, bounce rate refers to the fraction of users who visited one page on a website. A high bounce rate doesn’t necessarily mean that it is bad. It just means that the user did not go in more detail into your site. But he did spend some time.

Google panda Updation – In Feb 2011, a search filter called Google Panda Update was introduced. This was brought in to stop sites which had poor quality content from making their way into top search results. The Panda is updated regularly.

Jasni Salim