Google Webmaster Tools is a free service that provides website owners with a trove of valuable (and actionable) data about their sites. The service complements the data obtained through Google Analytics. Together the two services are an indispensable resource for anyone who runs a website.
This tutorial explains the benefits of Google Webmaster Tools, highlight some of the more valuable features, and walks through the setup process.
A few reasons why you need Webmaster Tools:
- You’ll learn what search phrases people use to get to your website. And you’ll be able to easily identify where your site is underperforming on Google. This is information you can’t get anywhere else — including Google Analytics.
- You’ll receive alerts when Google has trouble crawling your website. Crawling errors can lead to lower search engine rankings and even removal from Google.
- You’ll receive alerts when your site has been hacked or infected with malware. Google bans sites infected with malware, so the sooner you know about this, the better. Webmaster Tools also provides a way to quickly get your site back into Google once the malware has been removed.
4 thoughts on “Improve Your WordPress Site with Google Webmaster Tools”
Hi Kirk, This was a great video! (They all are).
Do I need to set up Google Webmaster Tools and Google Analytics for each of my subdomain sites as well?
Thanks.
Cheers!
David
Thanks David,
Yes, you’ll need to add the Analytics code to each subdomain. Depending on how you set things up you could roll all of those numbers into the main account for the domain, or track each subdomain separately. It really depends on how you want to track your data.
And yes, you’ll need to verify each subdomain for the Webmaster Tools account. Google treats each subdomain as a separate site.
kb
Hi Kirk,
Thank you very much for your reply. I appreciate your clear and helpful answer.
Cheers,
David
Hi Kirk,
Thanks for this video. Our initial site designer set up Google Webmaster Tools for us, but I didn’t really understand what it was for until I watched this video. It truly is a gold mine of helpful features. Also liked your reference to Yoast and how they integrate.
I’m off to look into our Tools account in more detail right now!
Yet another gold star, Mr. Biglione!! 🙂
Linda
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