Google’s Webmaster Tools, Part 4

In Part 3 of our series about Google’s Webmaster Tools, we took a close look at the Statistics Section. This time, we’ll discuss Links and Sitemaps Sections.

The Links Section

Pages with External Links. The pages listed here are those that have been linked to by others. Once again, this is important information that affects each page’s PageRank. There’s a lot of detail here because you don’t just see the links that lead to your home page, you see all the individual pages that are linked to from the outside. You can also view the outside pages if you click on the External Links number. You can check to see if they are real links, or just links from your test server to your real server.

Pages with Internal Links. The pages on your site that link to other pages on your site are listed here. Honestly, I’m not sure why this is useful information. I have a feeling Google provides these statistics simply because they’re available. If anyone has a better explanation, I’d like to hear it.

Sitelinks. You may have noticed that when you search with Google, the primary results often come with their own set of links. These are site links, and they’re created by Google when it indexes your site.

Let’s say you’re searching for information about Celiac Disease. Your initial search may return the home page of a site about the disease, but the info you really want is buried deeper within that site. The site links can take you directly to the page that contains the specific info you’re after.

You’ll see the site links for your site listed here. Unfortunately, you have very little control when it comes to these links. In fact, you can’t do anything with them other than block them. In general, site links are a great thing; they help searchers find the right page within your site.

The Sitemaps Section

Here you can upload a special html or xml file that maps out your whole site. Why is this a good idea? Well, if you have dynamic pages or if your site is very new, a site map up will help Google find and keep track of all the pages on your site. You can also let Google know how often your pages will be updated. In theory, this should prompt the Googlebot to return regularly and index the new content.

I’ll explain how to create a Sitemap and talk more about its benefits in another post, but if you have one ready now, this is where you can put it to work.

–

From the NoD Sponsor:

Sessions Online Schools of Art and Design is an accredited online graphic and web design school offering:

- Web design classes and web design Certificate Programs taught by renowned design instructors.