As far as free software goes, Google is pretty generous in its release of data to web developers. Once signed up to Google you have access to some in depth knowledge of your sites. The two standout programs are Analytics and Webmaster Tools, everyone knows how useful Analytics is but I would like to discuss Webmaster Tools in more detail.
Whenever I have finished developing a site my first step is to add my xml sitemap to Webmaster tools, making Google aware of whats on your site and encouraging it to crawl the your pages.
Once added when you first arrive at Webmaster tools dashboard you are given information on your sites last crawl. Through the Diagnostics section you can discover problems that the spider has come across generally on your site during it crawl or more specifically within your content. Through the statistics section you can gain an insight in to what users of your site and the Googlebot deems as important on your site. You can see what your most common keywords are and through index stats you can achieve valuable information including inbound links and indexing stats: Alternatively you can put these definitions straight into Google to discover yours or someone else’s sites statistics, ideal for an insight into SEO competition.
Site:http://www.yourwebsite.com
Link: http://www.yourwebsite.com
Cache: http://www.yourwebsite.com
Info: http://www.yourwebsite.com
Related: http://www.yourwebsite.com
In the Tools section you can increase or decrease the crawl rate by Google spiders, analyse your robots.txt and set geographic targeting. If used correctly all of these features of Webmaster tools mentioned will make your site focused and targeted. If you need Search Engine Optimisation tips I would recommend using the links on the overview page and having a thorough read, this is where Google gives away a lot of hints of what and what not to do for your SEO campaign.
For an in depth analysis of your site please use this link; SEO Consult analysis.
Related posts:
- Ignore Webmaster Tools At Your Peril
- iGoogle – Your Personal Companion
- Using Google Webmaster Tools to Assist Search Engine Optimisation
- Tools for Internet Marketing and SEO Part Two
- Be In Control of Your SEO Venture With Web Analytics
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