Everyone definitely wants their website to be ranked first in search engines. When a website is ranked at the top, it means the website is in high demand. Try to imagine when you are searching for information on Google with certain keywords.
Surely the website on the first page of Google is the one you will choose, right? So, everyone is competing to get their website indexed by Google.
To help users, Google has been kind enough to provide a tool that makes it easier for websites to be indexed. This tool is called Google Webmaster or commonly called Google Search Console. Google Webmaster Tools will help track and index websites in Google search.
Website owners or managers are always looking for ways to increase website traffic while maximizing ranking in search engine results. Are you familiar with the existence and use of Google Webmaster tools?
If you haven't and you are still doing website development, you don't need to worry because this feature from Google can be used at any time. Then, what are Google Webmaster tools and what is the right way to use them? Let's take a closer look.
What is Google Webmaster?
Before talking further about using Google Webmaster tools, maybe you're curious about the meaning of Google Webmaster itself.
Google Webmaster or what is now known as Google Search Console is a web service provided by Google that allows users to check the indexing status and optimize the visibility of their website. In January 2018, Google Webmaster was introduced with a new name, namely Google Search Console with changes to the page user interface.
The features offered are still diverse and even arguably easier to understand. One of them is Google Analytics, where website managers can get visitor analysis reports, total impressions and clicks every month, pages that website visitors access more often, even the website's position in search engines.
To be able to experience the benefits of using Google Search Console, first make sure you have installed it correctly so that it can be used immediately. What are you curious about? Some of you or those who just found out about the great performance of Google Webmaster may still think that this tool is difficult to use. In fact, it is very easy for anyone to use.
How do I Register my Website with Google Webmaster Tools?
Here are some things you should prepare before using Google Webmaster tools, including:
1. Setting up a Google Account and Website
This is the first thing that needs to be done. Registration requires an active Google account as well as websites to be indexed by Google. Make sure to always update website content that is not only useful but also interesting.
2. Visit the Google Search Console Page
If you have typed Google Search Console in the search engine, continue by clicking on the appropriate search results or just visit https://search.google.com/search-console/.
3. Make a Choice
There are two options available, namely domain and URL Prefix, and you can choose one of them. If you choose a domain with conditions that match what is displayed on the screen, then the verification method available is only the DNS TXT Record. However, if you choose a URL prefix or URL prefix on the right, then there are several choices of verification methods, but first click the continue button on your choice.
4. Perform Verification
By verifying, you and Google agree to the existing agreement. In addition, Google can more easily track your website. For verification, you can choose the easiest method, such as HTML files, Google Tag Manager, Google Analytics, HTML tags, and DNS TXT records.
a. HTML Files
Did you know that Google highly recommends this method. Please upload the HTML file to the website folder that is on the hosting after downloading the file first. You can upload it directly through the File Manager or by using the help of FTP. Then, click verify after the file has been successfully uploaded.
b. HTML Tags
You can click on the HTML tag and then enter the HTML tag into the website that you manage. It doesn't matter whether you want to do it directly on the website or by copying the script on each page. You can take advantage of help from Yoast SEO to add HTML tags on your website.
Have you installed this SEO plugin on your website? If not then make sure to install it. If so, you can immediately click the SEO menu and then select General and click the Webmaster Tools tab.
In the Google verification code section, paste the script. Make sure you also save the changes that have been made by clicking save changes. Return to the Google Search Console page and click verify.
c. Google Analytics
Google Webmaster tools verification can also be done through Google Analytics. Just like verifying in other ways, you must make sure you click verify after everything is finished.
d. Google TagManager
Verifying using this method is the same as using Google Analytics, where you can immediately click verify after adding some code via Google Tag Manager.
e. DNS TXT Records
If you choose this verification method, then you can copy the code that appears in the TXT record. After successful verification, Google Webmaster tools can be used immediately. Then you can move on to the next step. Maybe some of you can't wait to see the results of using this tool, right?
How do I Use Google Webmaster Tool?
After successfully adding your website to Google Search Console and verifying it, now is the time for you to start using Google Search Console. Here is a guide on how to use Google Search Console:
1. Get to know the terms in Google Search Console
Before starting to use Google Search Console, you should understand several important terms in this tool.
a. Impressions
Every URL link that appears in search results is called an impression. Impression is the total appearance of a URL link in search results. Even if the URL link is not clicked or even seen by the searcher, it is still called an impression.
b. Click
When a user clicks on one link and exits Google search results, it is considered one click. If a user clicks on one link and then presses the “Back” button and clicks on the same link, it is still called a click.
c. Click Through Rate (CTR)
CTR is clicks divided by impressions then multiplied by 100. If your link appears 20 times in search results and gets 10 clicks, the CTR is 50 percent.
2. Determine the Target Country
If your website targets an audience in a certain country, you can instruct Google to target the country you choose. The way to do this is to open the old version of Google Search Console and select the "Search Traffic" menu and click the "International Targeting" sub menu.
Select the “Country” tab then determine which countries you want to target. Choosing one target country does not mean your website will not appear in search results in other countries. If your website is still relevant in other countries, of course Google will still display it.
Setting one target country will help Google to understand your main target audience. That way Google will give your website more priority in the target country you set.
3. Add XML Sitemap
XML Sitemap is useful for providing information to search engines about all the pages on a website. XML Sitemap also functions to tell search engines which links on your website are more important than other links.
Adding an XML Sitemap to your website helps search engines to crawl your website. Even though it doesn't directly improve rankings in search results, adding an XML Sitemap helps search engines to index the content on your website efficiently.
You can use the Yoast SEO plugin or Google XML Sitemap. Remember, just choose one. Because using both at the same time will make your XML Sitemap error. For a more complete guide on how to add an XML Sitemap, you can read the article How to Create a Sitemap in WordPress.
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After creating an XML Sitemap, you will get a link like this:
http://example.com/sitemap_index.xml
The next step is to register the XML Sitemap with Google Search Console. Open the Google Search Console dashboard then click the Sitemaps menu and paste the last part of the link above, namely sitemap_index.xml. Then click the submit button to save the changes you made.
4. Connect Google Search Console and Google Analytics
Connecting Google Search Console and Google Analytics will help you to analyze data from Google Search Console in Google Analytics. That way you can get a new perspective on what content and keywords produce the most results.
If you haven't installed Google Analytics for your website, there's no need to worry. The How to Install Google Analytics article will guide you through installing Google Analytics on WordPress.
After installing Google Analytics and Google Search Console, the next step is to connect the two. Open the Google Analytics dashboard then click the Admin menu in the bottom left corner.
Google Analytics will display settings for admins. In these settings, select the "Property Settings" menu then click the "Adjust Search Console" button. Then Google Analytics will take you to Google Search Console and display a list of all the websites that you have added to Google Search Console. Select the website you want to connect with Google Analytics then click the “Save” button.
Finished! Now your Google Analytics and Google Search Console are connected. You can see the Search Console menu in Google Analytics via the Acquisition menu.
5. Fix Search Indexing Problems
One of the most useful features of Google Search Console is finding and fixing indexing errors. Indexing errors can affect rankings in search results by stopping crawling and indexing activities from search engines.
You can easily find the error via the Coverage > Index menu. This menu will display which pages on your website have been indexed by Google and which ones are experiencing errors or receiving warnings.
Google Search Console will also provide detailed information to learn what errors occurred and what actions need to be taken to fix them. The following are some of the most frequently encountered errors:
- 404 Error: This error shows that the crawler from the search engine has followed the URL link, but what appears is a 404 error.
- Soft 404 Error: This error occurs when the search engine crawler gets a 404 error page, but the page status code sends a 200 message (which means success) to the browser.
- Server Error: This indicates your server has timed out or is not responding. This error usually occurs when the website gets a lot of traffic, is undergoing maintenance, or does not appear for other reasons.
- Not Followed: This error occurs when Google cannot understand the type of content on the website. The content in question can be flash, javascript, iframe, or others.
Here is how to solve the problems above:
a. 404 Error
First, what you need to understand is that not all 404 errors are the same. You can ignore some of them and only fix the ones that are really errors.
For example, if you delete a blog post and don't want to redirect visitors to another blog post, it's fine to ignore this kind of 404 error. Google will eventually deindex this page if it continues to encounter 404 errors.
However, if you find a page with a 404 error and want to redirect it to a new article, you can redirect it.
b. Server Error
Server errors in Google Search Console are caused by several reasons. One of the most frequently encountered is the server experiencing a time out which results in an error or not appearing at all.
Use Fetch as Google Bot to determine whether the page is really an error. If Fetch as Google Bot shows the page is running normally, you can ignore the error.
6. Collect Potential Keywords
Visitors to your website come through various keywords. Website owners can optimize content targeted to specific keywords. That way, the chances of appearing in the top ranking of search results can be higher.
You can see what keywords are popular for your website via the “Performance” tab. At the top, you will see a graph showing your website's performance in search results. Below that, you can see data regarding keywords which can be filtered based on average position, impression, and CTR.
You can identify which pages and keywords generate the most traffic. Apart from that, you can also find new keywords related to the main keywords of your content.
7. Keyword Optimization
Ideally you can generate high traffic from all the keywords you target. However, there may still be some keywords that you target that do not produce results as expected. Of course you need to identify what keywords have the potential to generate traffic and are worth optimizing.
Here's how to find potential keywords you need to optimize for. Open the “Performance” menu and click the filter icon and select the “Position” filter. Filter keywords whose average position is greater than 7 then click "Done".
Google Search Console will display keywords for which your website appears in average position 7 or above. Double click in the “Position” column to sort keywords from smallest to largest position.
You will find keywords that rank in positions 7 to 30. It is still very possible for these keywords to be optimized to get an even higher position in Google search results.
Apart from looking at the position of the keywords, you also need to look at the impressions each keyword gets. Prioritize optimizing keywords that have higher impression numbers first. To get complete information, you can download the data summary in CSV form.
8. Evaluate Content
You can also use Google Search Console to evaluate the content you have published. You can see the performance per page in search results, appearing for any keyword.
To check performance per website page, follow these steps:
- Go to the Performance tab
- Click Pages
- Select the website page you want to see the performance of
- Then click the "Queries" tab
- After that, keywords will appear that generate impressions for that page.
Then you can complete the information in the article based on keywords that generate impressions for that page. That way, the possibility of the website page appearing for various keywords is greater. Your articles will be richer in information that matches what people are looking for in search engines.
9. Looking for Backlink Sources
Links or links are an important part of SEO. Search engines use links as an indicator to determine the position of a page in search results. And you can check the performance of your website's external links and internal links via Google Search Console
To see the complete report, click the Links menu. Then you will see the link performance report for external links and internal links. At this point I will discuss external links first or often referred to as backlinks.
10. Improve the quality of internal links
Apart from backlinks, internal links are also an important part of SEO techniques. Internal links help search engines to understand the context and relationships between pages on your website. Search engines can also detect which pages on your website are the most important through internal links.
Google Search Console can help improve the quality of your website's internal links. Click the Links menu > Internal Links. You will get a report about which website pages get links from other pages. Check which pages have received lots of links and which still need additional internal links.
11. Improve Website Performance on Mobile Devices
As many as 94 percent of Indonesian internet users access the internet via mobile devices. That's why Google prioritizes websites that are mobile friendly to get higher rankings in search results.
Google Search Console allows you to check website performance on mobile devices through The Mobile Usability feature. If Google Search Console shows an error, you need to fix it immediately because it affects your ranking in search results. Click the “Error” report and identify what issue is causing the error. Google Search Console will provide suggestions on what steps need to be taken to fix the error.
Generally, errors that occur in Mobile Usability are caused by themes that are not coded properly or plugin errors. Therefore, you need to be careful when installing a WordPress theme.
12. Take advantage of Fetch as Google
Fetch as Google allows you to find out how Google crawls or renders URLs on your website. You can check whether Googlebot can access your website and find out whether any images or content are blocked by Googlebot.
To access this feature, you can open the old version of Google Search Console and select the Crawl menu > Fetch as Google. In the latest version, you can open it via the Index > Coverage menu then click on the URL you want to check.
What are you looking for in Fetch as Google? The most important information you need to get is the response code provided. If the response code given is 200, the page is fine. Then also check the time it takes Googlebot to download your page. If the download time exceeds 1.5 seconds, it means that Googlebot is having difficulty crawling your website.
Apart from that, you can also do indexing quickly using Fetch as Google. You just need to enter the URL and click the Fetch button. If Googlebot has downloaded the page, click the Request Indexing button.
13. Remove URLs from Search Results
After diligently updating your blog for more than a year, there may be some content that you want to delete. Unfortunately deleting content that has been indexed by Google is a bit complicated. You must remove the URL from Google's index via Google Search Console.
Open Google Search Console then click the Google Index menu > Remove URLs. Then click the “Temporarily Hide” button and enter the URL you want to delete. This feature will only hide website pages from search results for 90 days. To delete it permanently, you have to delete the content from the website so that a 404 error warning appears.
14. Adding Users
If you manage Google Search Console as a group, you can add multiple users easily. The method is as follows:
- Open Google Search Console
- Click the Settings menu > Users and Permissions
- Click Add User
- Enter the email address of the user you want to add
- Select the type of Permission you will grant.
- There are two types of permissions, namely full permissions and restricted permissions. Full permissions allow users to access all Google Search Console features, including adding new users. Restricted permissions only allow users to view data, but cannot add new users.
- New users will get a notification email and can log in via that email.
What is the Advantage of Google Search Console?
Google will not provide features and services without reason. The use of Google Webmaster, of course, provides its users with various benefits and advantages such as the following:
1. Do Page Indexing on Google
No matter how often you update website content, internet users may still not be able to find your website pages. Because the page that has been updated may not immediately get Google's attention. Fortunately, there is an index feature from Google, where you can index the page through the URL entered.
2. View Search Traffic Data
Search traffic, of course, is related to the performance of your website visits and activities in real time. High traffic provides many advantages for optimizing a website. The data you get can be used to improvise so that the results you get are maximized.
3. Voverage
It provides you a report, where each website page URL indexing position is displayed. The report can be a warning, error, or valid.
4. Mobile Device Usability
With this feature, you will get a report regarding the status of the condition of the page visited using a mobile device. Problems that arise can also be seen in detail so you can quickly solve them, such as whether your website is mobile friendly. You can also contact Google about any repairs you've made.
Conclusion
How to set up Google Webmaster Tools can be done by registering on Google Search Console/Webmaster Tools then verifying on the website. There are also various verification methods, such as HTML files, HTML tags, Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager.
Can't wait to start using Google Webmaster tools? First make sure you have a website which will then be registered and its performance monitored using this tool.
That's the article about what Google Search Console is and how to use it. Google Search Console has many benefits for the development of your website.
With Google Search Console, you can get accurate data regarding keywords, security, and website performance in search results. So make sure your website is registered in Google Search Console!