Google introduced a new tool this week for WebMasters to check the indexing status of the pages on the sites they manage with Google. In the past, it was virtually impossible for Webmasters, especially those at large sites, to check the indexing status of pages without checking each one individually. With this new update to WebMaster Tools Webmasters will be able to determine if a page is indexed by Google and if there are any problems with Google indexing some pages.
Google’s Index Status Tool Will:
- Shows how many pages are currently indexed over the last year.
- The Advanced tab will allow WebMasters to see the total number of indexed pages, the cumulative number of pages crawled, the number of pages that were not crawled because they are blocked by robots.txt, and the number of pages that were not selected for inclusion in Google’s results.
This data can be used in identify and debuging a variety of indexing-related problems. If, for example, some of your content doesn’t appear in searches anymore in Google and you notice that the graph of pages indexed has dropped, it may be an indication that a site-wide error was introduced when using meta=”noindex” and now Google isn’t including the content in search results. To find out more about Google’s new indexing status report check out their blog.
If you have a website its important to either understand updates like this indexing status feature or hire someone else who does. Understanding the updates that Google makes will allow you or your Internet Marketing firm to manage your website more effectively, which will help you get found by your clients online. Internet Marketing is continuing to change and if you are small business owner keeping up with the changes can be overwhelming. If you need a Internet Marketing firm to manage your online presence and optimize your content for search to increase results contact Patina Marketing at 805-380-5494.
