So by now, you should have learnt what it takes to build a great website, and how to get it started (provided you have followed this series
ofcourse!). What's the next step? To be successful, (almost) every inch
of your website should be visible to search engines. But more than
that, these search engines should be able to notice your website. In
case of Google, some of the steps required include setting up a
Webmaster Tools account, submitting your website's sitemap, and making
sure your site is all set to be noticed.
If you haven't followed up to the series yet, here's your chance to do so!
Part 1: How To Create A Great Website?
Part 3: How To Get Your Site Noticed in Google?
Google Webmaster Tools
You’ll need to verify your site in Google Webmaster Tools
to view the data Google has aggregated from your site, such as search
terms your site shows up for in Google Search, how it ranks on those
terms, and how many users are clicking on your site's listing. Google
Webmaster Tools will also let you know if there are any issues with your
site that are negatively impacting its search rankings. These issues
include malware, hacking, or violation of the Google Webmaster Tools
guidelines.
But for all this to work, you need to get your site verified with GWT
first. So how can you go about doing that? We've written a useful
article explaining the very process. Make sure you catch it before
moving on.
Making your site crawlable
To determine if Google is having problems accessing or understanding
your site's content, check the Crawl Errors page in Webmaster Tools.
This page lists problems Google has encountered when attempting to crawl
your site. There are basically two types of crawl errors;
- Site errors: These are problems that prevent Google from accessing your site at all. These often mean that your site is down, so you should address these issues as soon as possible. Site errors often occur because your server is down or overloaded, or because your site or hosting provider is blocking Googlebot.
- URL errors: These are problems Googlebot encounters when trying to crawl specific pages. Your site or web host may be blocking access to these pages or a visitor may have clicked a broken link or a link to a deleted page.
404 errors
One of the most common crawl errors is a 404 error, which occurs when a
user tries to access a page that does not exist. The page may have been
deleted or the link is broken or incorrect. You can safely ignore 404
errors most of the time. But if you're seeing a lot of traffic leading
to a URL that 404s, check your site for broken links. While individual
pages that return 404 will drop out of Google search results over time,
having 404s or other crawl errors will not negatively impact the rest of
your website's visibility in Google Search.
Submit your sitemap
OK, so you now have a site set up with any errors removed, and some content online. It's time to submit a sitemap. Create a Sitemap to help search engines better crawl and categorize your site. The following link can help.Hit the forums!
The Webmaster Help Forum contains a variety of useful resources for webmasters. Get connected with many experienced contributors who post in the forum, including Top Contributors and Googlers. You can utilize the Webmaster Help Forum by:- Viewing answers to common questions from other webmasters
- Asking others to take a look at your site and offer feedback
- Posting questions specific to your site
You can also check out the Google Webmasters Google+ Page to get even more help and resources!
All the best for your soon-to-be-great website ;)