What is Google Webmaster?

Google Webmaster provides information that Google has about your website. It can tell you:

• What pages Google has indexed (ie: what pages it know about!)
• When Google last crawled your site
• Any problems Google encountered when it crawled your site
• What keywords were used to find your site.

It really is a must have if you are serious about your website.

What's more it's free! All you need is a Google Account and you can start to use the Google Webmaster tools right away.

OK - So how do I get a Google Account?

Chances are that you already have an account. If you use Gmail, Groups, My Search History, Alerts, Froogle Shopping List, Adwords or Adsense then you already have a Google Account. You just use those sign in details to access your Google Webmaster account.

If you don't have an account you can get one at the Google Accounts home page

To sign in go to Google Webmaster Central, click on the link for Google Webmaster tools (as shown in the diagram below) and enter your sign in details.

How do I get to see information about my site?

To start looking at the information for your site you will need to add your website. Once you have logged into your account, you will see a box with the words "Click here to add a site" and type in your website address. Type the entire web address (ie: include http://)

Once you have added your site you can start to see some basic information. Such as:

• What pages are indexed by Google
• Pages that link to your site's front page
• The current cache of your site (ie: how Google is currently seeing your site)
• You can also upload and check your sitemap (More about sitemaps in a future article)

How do I get to see more information?

To be able to see more detailed information about your website you need to verify your site.

Google offers two methods of verification. You can either upload an HTML file with a name they specify, or you can add a meta tag to your site's home page.

To start the verification process you simply click on the Verify Site link in the yellow box at the top of the Google Webmaster page.

If you choose to upload the HTML file option, you simply create a html file with the name that Google ask you to use. If you choose the Meta Tag option, Google will provide you with the HTML code to insert into your home page. Both are easy options and Google walks you through each step of the process. Also, you can come ask any questions of the KKSmarts Website Promotion Forum and we'll be glad to help.

Once you have verified, you will be able to see much more information. For example:

• What pages on your site Google has had problems crawling
• What keywords were used to find your site using the Query Stats option
• What links are coming into your site and what link text they are using
• Google's crawl rate for your site

As you can see Google Webmaster offers lots of valuable information, all free. You really should sign up now and start checking your website.