Eparadise-india blog

Google keeps updating its tool kit and improving its webmaster tools to deliver the best. Google Webmaster Tools are the tools to diagnose and troubleshoot the technical problems of a website. The search giant has lately updated its webmaster tools for search engine optimization. This blog of mine is a focus on the new tools in the Google’s webmaster kit for SEO tasks.

The significant addition to the kit of webmaster tools for SEO, made by Google in the month of May 2010, consists of several new diagnostic tools. Using the latest diagnostic tools, the webmasters can improve the crawlability and search engine visibility of their websites in Google. The blog is a review on the new tools from the updated version of Google’s webmaster kit.

Change of Address Tool to Speed up the Website Transfer to a New Domain

Moving your website to a new domain is a technically painstaking task. It also affects the ranking and visibility of the website in Google’s search world. Changing the website domain means decline in the number of visitors and the figure of sales leads. Adding to the worse, the website loses the relevance of its indexed pages and the ranking of its key phrases.

301 redirecting a website to its new domain is the classical solution to this problem. It takes a couple of months or more to restore the site to its previous ranking reputation and traffic drive. But, the “Change of Address” tool in the latest version of Google Webmaster Tools quickens the website transfer to the new domain in a simple and smooth process. It helps get the webpages with new domain URLs indexed in Google. The following is the procedure to use this Google Webmaster tool –

• Set up the website with the new domain name
• Redirect the website from its old domain to the new domain using either 301 or the link rel= canonical tag
• Go from Google Webmaster to Change of Address
• Look for the new domain in the list under ‘Select a verified site’ and select it
• Click the submit button

Parameter Handling to Deal with Duplicate Content Issues

Google’s webmaster kit is equipped with several tools to do away with duplicate content issues. Using robots.txt or Meta non-index tag or 301 redirect is the classical way. the link rel= canonical tag as a solution to the problems regarding duplicate content is the last year addition to Google Webmaster Kit for SEO. It has helped those having a Blogger account without a 301 redirect.

“Parameter Handling” the latest tool to deal with duplicate content issues is what the updated version of Google Webmaster Toolkit features. It is good alternative to 301 redirection. It is helpful for those who cannot edit the page source in order to implement the link rel= canonical tag. The following is the procedure to use “Parameter Handling”-

• Identify the parameter causing duplicate content issue
• Log in to the Google Webmaster tools
• Go to “Sites” and click the website where you want to implement “Parameter handling”
• Move to “Site configuration”, then to “Settings” and “Parameter Handling”
• Make a click on “Adjust parameter settings”
• Enter the duplicate content causing parameter in the “Parameter” textbox
• Select “Ignore” button under “Action” and click Save.

Search Queries to Solve Keyword Rank Checking Problems

Knowing the ranking of the targeted key phrases for a site in a particular geographical location was a problem that SEO experts and webmasters used to face. Without relying on proxies, there was no any other way to check the ranking details. To check the ranking details of specific key phrases for a website in the UK, the user had to rely on a UK-based proxy and go to www.google.co.uk, if he or she is not in the UK. Moreover, the accuracy of the process is not 100%.

Google has added the latest feature to solve rank checking related problems to its webmaster tools under the section, “Search Queries”. The following is the procedure to check the ranking of SEO India, a keyword for www.eparadise-india.com in India using this functional feature –

• Log in to the Google Webmaster Tools
• Move from “Your site on the web” to “Search queries”
• Select India in the drop-down list of countries
• Expand the ‘+’ symbol located by the targeted keyword
• See the ranking details of the keyword SEO India and the ranking URL

Though a specific keyword ranks well in Google but it does not receive many click throughs nor drive organic traffic to the website. Such keywords are low performing in number of click throughs. “%Click Through = Total Clicks / Total Impressions” is the formula under the section, “Search Queries”, that will calculate the percentage of click throughs from Google. If the click through is not more than 1%, the webmasters need to check out the possible problems.

Now, use these latest features in the updated version of Google Webmaster Toolkit for SEO to get the best of your site in terms of ranking, visibility and traffic in Google.