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Google Webmaster Tools

As a Google customer, we have access to a very useful set of tools, which help us develop and maintain a healthy relationship between our blogs and the Google search engine spiders.

Google Webmaster Tools (now Search Console) provides us with tools to measure our visibility, and it provides us with helpful hints on how to improve our visibility.

You can use Google Webmaster Tools for any active URL that you administer.

If your blog is published to BlogSpot, you use the "xxxxxxx.blogspot.com" URL; if the blog is published to a custom domain, you use the primary URL for the domain.

Using Google Webmaster Tools for any web site requires that you are the administrator of the web site.

Google doesn't want anybody who's not the administrator, of any web site, accessing search engine diagnostics for that web site.

The meta tag provided in the verification process is a token, and it must match the URL that you are verifying. If you change the active URL for the blog (rename it within "blogspot.com", or publish it to a custom domain), you will need a new Google Webmaster Tools entry, with a new verification tag.

The meta tag is as important a data element as the clickable link that you get in your email, when you're offered membership in a blog - or when you verify an email address, for an account. You click on the link, which opens the token, and applies it to your account.

With a Blogger blog in Google Webmaster Tools, you install the token into the blog template, to verify ownership of the domain (blog). Only a blog administrator has the authority to update the template. If you don't install the token into the template, you can't prove that you own the blog, and you can't use Google Webmaster Tools for your blog.

Elsewhere in Google Webmaster Tools, you'll find the Web crawl logs. Some information in the web crawl logs can be very useful to you, while other is informational only. It's to your advantage to separate the two categories. The "Preferred domain" setting in "Site Configuration" is a very small setting, that can have a big impact. And most of us setup our blogs on GWT so we can add a sitemap to the blog.

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Comments

A Single Mother said…
hi..., how are you...?
Dear Nitecruzr, I'm a new be, and have a serious trouble of error 404 when I submit my new domains name= www.1630717.com
to my blog name http://www.asinglemother.blogspot.com
I already write ghs.google.com at my godaddy account but I still have this error 404 at my google.account
for your information, thanks
regards,
A single Mom.
Nitecruzr said…
Hey Single Mother,

I looked briefly at your problem from your profile. I'll try to help you solve this, but if we start with you posting a new thread in GBH: Something Is Broken, it'll go easier for both of us.
The lady in Red said…
Dear Nitecruzr, I am new here and I liked your information. Thanks a lot.

The lady in red
http://lovinglady2013.blogspot.com
Thank you this was very helpful. Clarifies some of my confusion. Great site!
lilybox said…
Thanks; this has really helped with a few problems i've had

http://lilyboxdesigns.blogspot.com/
Unknown said…
thnk this very helpful
Literary Blush said…
Thank you for your help. Your site is an excellent source of information! I will be sure to pass the word
Thanx, good information, I am new and enjoying being able to share. I was a chef, and always an artist. Now I can send my friends to my blog for coveted recipes instead of them calling me on the phone. I have only been up for a few days with www.HealthyDeliciousCheapandEasy.blogspot.com
and was delighted to see adds already. I may have made 25c.
But I am hopeful that it will pay off eventually. I have been looking for anything that can enhance my site.
Anonymous said…
Thanks for good and helpful posts. I've read a few posts here, and have got what I want.
Paul Crowe said…
Great post and great subject,

The webmaster tools option you cover is unknown to most people.

Paul.
Dare Onadele said…
kudos to you. I have been trying to change the template of my blog. Also I would like to affix more pictures on the blog. Lastly I want it to appear on google searches. Please, how do I go about this?
Nitecruzr said…
Swagger,

Those are three excellent questions for Blogger Help Forum: How Do I?, where you get peer support.
I have a dumb question: How do I copy/paste meta tags into my blog? mmmmmmm?
Nitecruzr said…
How do I copy/paste meta tags into my blog? mmmmmmm?

The meta tags are in the template header, so you paste them into the Layout / Template "Edit HTML" window.
samuma said…
I have found it very helpful , keep up the good work
Wanda said…
Very informative!!! Thanks
David Awasthi said…
I have real problem. I just added new custom domain to my blogger will all the necessary steps and its been successful but the come here with my google webmaster. I did verified the new domain name as well and submitted the site map as well and now both of the google webmaster blogspot account and new custom domain has Zero url indexed. Here is the question Do I have to submit the sitemap for both or what do I need to do? which one is the best and when Can I see the indexed url in sitemap section that those were indexed in google? and my traffic has been reduced today. Please help....
Nitecruzr said…
You submit a sitemap for the URL that the blog is published to, and no other.

You only want the blog content indexed under one URL. If you succeed in getting a sitemap for an alternate URL recognised, the alternate URL will either have no content indexed - or it will have duplicated content indexed, and both URLs will get penalties from the search engines.

Either way, you now have a new URL. You will see "Zero URLs indexed" for a while. If your traffic depends upon search engine references for traffic, you're going to see reduced traffic, for a while.

http://blogging.nitecruzr.net/2010/06/blogger-magic-search-engine-indexing.html
http://blogging.nitecruzr.net/2010/01/custom-domain-migration-managing.html
Jeff Ortiz said…
Chuck thank you for that information. Im just a rookie and ive learn a lot just by reading you blog. More power :)

http://lakwatcherongpinoy.blogspot.com/
Unknown said…
As a new Blogger of

REALHOMECOOKIN.COM

I have gained wonderful information from your posts. Thank You, Thank You, and Thank You!!
Haley Flores said…
Thanks! www.floreslifestyle.blogspot.com
Anonymous said…
Dear Nitecruzr,

I am trying my best to figure all of this custom domain stuff out.

I've logged into Webmaster Tools and I saw that my new site (www.thelovehanger.com) has not been indexed at all since installing the custom domain a week ago.

I tried to set my preferred URL from the naked domain to the www one and it's saying I need to verify my site.

When I click on Manage Site to the right of my site URL, the "Verify my Site" option isn't even available.

I'm at a loss of what to do. Can you please help me?
Nitecruzr said…
Hanger,

Like so many others, you need to add a "CNAME" and prove domain ownership - in Blogger - before you can do anything in WMT.

http://blogging.nitecruzr.net/2012/09/custom-domain-publishing-is-back-and.html

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