Make your site Google friendly

[paul_r]

Making your site Google friendly is important if you want your site to be found easily. This is a complex area, and I'm not saying Google is the only thing to be considered, but it's certainly the biggest.

Google sitemaps is a newish thing, and is still in Beta form (testing) but I thought it would be useful to post a link to Google sitemaps and a tutorial on how to implement it on your site if you use the sitebuilder. The Google site also has some useful stuff about how search engines work, so it's worth a browse just for that.

Google sitemaps page HERE (https://www.google.com/webmasters/sitemaps/docs/en/about.html)

Tutorial:
This is pretty easy to do using the sitebuilder but it's very important to do everything exactly right (Google sitemaps can be implemented in any site but I've only done it using our sitebuilder so far. Much of this tutorial will apply to any site though).

1. Having read the intro on the Google page above, to set it up for your site go to HERE (https://www.google.com/accounts/ServiceLogin?service=sitemaps&nui=1&continue=https://www.google.com/webmasters/sitemaps/siteoverview%3Fhl%3Den&hl=en) and set up a Google account (it's free, and if you already have one use those login details).

2. Add your domain name in the format http://yoursite.com (i.e. WITHOUT the 'www' - this is very important).

3. Once the domain is submitted you should find a link to 'Try our new meta tag verification method.' Click that.

4. From the drop down list for 'Choose verification method' select 'Add a META tag'. See screenie HERE (http://www.visport.co.uk/forums/images/vs-images/google-meta-tag.gif) for Steps 4 and 5

5. Select and Copy the tag generated - it'll look something like '<META name="verify-v1" content="2uO6cHkzl98cbGGzUAtZbyWg55ZNHcrCb6zwOJ3cY90=" />'

6. Leave that Google window open as you'll be back to it in a minute.

7. Open your sitebuilder and go to the 'Search Optimisation' tab. See screenie HERE (http://www.visport.co.uk/forums/images/vs-images/meta-tag.gif) for Steps 7, 8, and 9

8. At the bottom of the page you will see a box labeled 'Then paste your verification tag here and re-publish:' - paste the META tag provided by Google into there.

9. Leave the box titled 'Exclude From siteMaps' UNTICKED

10. Publish your site, making sure to tick the box 'Create Google Site Map'. See screenie HERE (http://www.visport.co.uk/forums/images/vs-images/publish.gif)

11. When publishing is complete the page displayed is the sitebuilder will show a link to the sitemap file (Your sitemap URL is http://yoursite.com/sitemap.xml). See screenie HERE (http://www.visport.co.uk/forums/images/vs-images/sitemap-link.gif). You'll need this link in a minute when you go back to Google so leave that page open.

12. Back to Google now and click the 'Verify' button beneath where it generated the META tag. See screenie HERE (http://www.visport.co.uk/forums/images/vs-images/google-meta-tag.gif)

13. That should verify ok. Somewhere on the next page you will find a link to 'Submit a Sitemap to tell us more about your site.'. Click that.

14. From the drop down for 'Choose type' select 'Add General Web Sitemap' and paste into the box the URL for the sitemap - it will be http://yoursite.com/sitemap.xml as noted above in point 11. See screenie HERE (http://www.visport.co.uk/forums/images/vs-images/submit-sitemap-to-google-1.gif) for Steps 14, 15, and 16.

15. Copy and paste it from the sitebuilder or type it in, being sure to leave out the 'www'.

16. Click 'Add Web Sitemap'.

17. The 'Sitemap Status' will initially show as 'Pending'. It can take anything from a few minutes to possibly hours for Google to check the site. When it's finished that Status should change to 'OK'. When it does, you're done! See screenie HERE (http://www.visport.co.uk/forums/images/vs-images/submit-sitemap-to-google-2.gif)

18. If there are any errors you will be able to click on them for more information to help you correct them.

That may all sound a bit intimidating but if if you follow the steps it's actually quite quick and simple. Worth the effort if you want your site to be Google friendly.

[bymfc]

So how would I go about doing this for my site Paul?

[bymfc]

Paul why do we need to leave the www out when setting up a site on google? On google it shows their example with the www in it?

Stu

[Castle Utd Sec]

Stu,

Leaving out the www. was something to do with the way things are on here I think, and when google searches for that address it can't match it up.

At the mo it probably won't work either way until the server is back up again. Then just follow Pauls instructions to the letter and it will hopefully be relatively quick for you to do.

[paul_r]

So how would I go about doing this for my site?
You don't use the sitebuilder so I'll need to do a modified version of the 'How to' for 'normal' sites like yours. The guide below will work for the Google parts of the process ok, but we need to get different steps 7 - 11.

I'll try to get a chance to look at this over the next few days - I think it will be easy enough and the information required should be in Google somewhere. Then we'll sort a modified 'How to' for you to use.

why do we need to leave the www out when setting up a site on google? On google it shows their example with the www in it?
You only need to leave out the 'www' if using the sitebuilders automatically generated sitemap feature. The sitebuilder happens to use the URL without the 'www' by default. As the Google entry needs to match the sitemap it must be without the 'www' too in this case.

If you aren't using the sitebuilder (as in your case) either way will work equally well. When I get to the for 'How to' for non-sitebuilder sites I'll do it WITH the 'www' as probably most people are more familiar with that convention.

[paul_r]

I'm hoping to get time to post some more stuff about Search Engine Optomisation soon but in the meantime there is one important thing I can cover quickly now - links.

... by which I mean links to your website from other websites. Google likes links. Their system concludes that the more links you have from other websites to yours, the more significant your site must be. Therefore it will rank yours higher. Links from busy sites are rated higher than links from less busy sites too.

So, a few ideas on this are ...
1. If possible, get a link on your sports governing body website.

2. Talk to other clubs etc. within your own sport and offer exchange links - you link to them and they link to you.

3. Register and post on any forums relating to your sport. Forums are scanned by all major search engines so it's worth posting in any that are remotely relevant, making sure to put your web address in every post - the best way is to include the link in the signature you can normally modify in your user profile.

4. You should definitely post in our forums. Add your website to your profile ('Homepage' in your profile details) and in your signature, so any post you make will automatically add your weblink to the bottom. i.e. every post you make is another link for Google to find - get talking!

[malluskpg]

Nice guide as ever mate.

May i suggest a line break after each point my eyes were starting to go.

Thanks again

[paul_r]

Nice guide as ever mate.

May i suggest a line break after each point my eyes were starting to go.

Thanks again
I think the highlighted bit in your post may be the thing .... :1 (42):



Done :thumbsup:

[malluskpg]

I have no doubt as no noone else had a problem :laugh: :1 (56):

I have done all you say. I take it when this resolves if i google "mallusk playgroup" my page should display on search results?

[paul_r]

I have no doubt as no noone else had a problem :laugh: :1 (56):

I have done all you say. I take it when this resolves if i google "mallusk playgroup" my page should display on search results?
Yep - that's what should happen. It can take weeks or months for all that to work it's way through the system, but you seem to be coming up fine now.

Site is looking great btw :thumbsup:

[tenklassik]

Add your domain name in the format http://yoursite.com (http://yoursite.com/) (i.e. WITHOUT the 'www' - this is very important).

i really didnt knew about it. so while making directory submission also we should eliminate www.?