Search Console or mere lasim called Google Webmaster Tools is a tool that can be empowered by website or blog owners to make it easier for articles to be found in search engines. This tool is available free of charge and has become a necessity for website owners to set it.
POPREVAENG has written an article on how to verify a blog on Google Webmaster Tools. But for blogs with blogspot platforms. This time specifically for blogs whose CMS is Wordpress. Basically not much different, but there are still some parts that are not the same.
There are many questions that arise when we talk about this Webmaster. One of them, questioning the benefits of adding a website to them. In general, through Webmaster, we will get info about search queries from one website. How often people click and what kind of search results.
These data can be used to improve website performance. For example getting a new idea for writing. For example, after a month it turns out that a lot of keywords that come in the form of 'online business', yes, we can then target those keywords.
Most importantly, in this Webmaster we can also submit our website sitemap, so that we display interesting articles. At the same time they will recommend what should be improved to improve crawling in the search engine. This is closely related to SEO techniques.
This year, Google Webmaster Tools also launched a new version of Search Console. Although still in beta form, at least it looks more attractive than the old one. But the information displayed is very limited. We will only mention it a little at the end of the article.
Step 1: Get the Verification Code
To verify, of course you already have a blog created from WordPress. Then have a Gmail account of course. After logging into the WordPress dashboard, then visit the Google Webmaster Tools site to register a blog and get the verification code.
Please Sign In using the Google account that you have. If so, the Search Console home page will be available. Click 'Add Property' and type the name of the blog you want to register. After that press 'Add'. Remember writing the URL must be complete.
The next page will display the verification code. There are methods recommended by them, usually uploading HTML code directly to the site. But you have to use FTP and that not everyone can run it. Then you should select 'Alternative Methods'. Then check 'HTML tags'. The code will appear. Mutual meta tags.
Step 2: Install the Verification Code on WordPress
To install the webmaster verification code into WordPress there are several ways you can do. If you understand the coding problem, you can directly put it in the Editor bar. It is located just above the <head> code. But to reduce the errors that arise, we should use a plugin.
On your WordPress dashboard, go to the Plugins tab and select Add New. In the search box, type "Insert Headers and Footers". If it appears, as shown below, the rest of it click Install and then select activate.
After activating, go to the Settings tab and select Insert Headers and Footers. Next, paste the verification code before copying it, right in the Scripts in Header box. Then select Save.
Step 3: Verification
If you have already installed the verification code, return to Google Webmaster Tools and click on Verify at the bottom. If the results are like the following picture, it means that the verification process has succeeded. You can continue with the next settings.
The process of maximizing a website on Google Webmaster Tools cannot be separated from the stages of submitting a sitemap or site map. This is so that the blogs we manage can be easily crawled by Google's search engine robot. Know for yourself that now anything is definitely asking Google. So it's important to preach our site map on Google.
How do I submit a Wordpress Sitemap to Google Webmaster Tools?
In general, there are two types of sitemaps, there are XML and HTML. Both tasks and functions are almost the same but different. XML for search engines and HTML for users. A kind of navigation so that users or blog visitors don't get lost on our website. But for this stage, BLOGOOBLOK will only discuss the XML sitemap, because what we're talking about is still about Webmaster Tools.
Wordpress Blogs are not like Blogspot which easily has an automatic sitemap. We have to make it ourselves. There are many plugins that can be used to make it. For example Yoast SEO, in addition to making a sitemap, this plugin also allows us to install keywords and others.
But, for now I choose to use the Google XML Sitemap plugin. The method is almost the same when installing the 'Insert Headers and Footers' plugin above. Once installed, a sitemap will automatically be formed for our blog.
Although the structure is certainly http://blogkitadotcom/sitemap.xml, but you can confirm it directly by opening the Settings section. Select XML-Sitemap and your blog URL will appear with a sitemap behind it.
After creating a sitemap for our WordPress blog, return to Webmaster Tools. Select the 'Crawl' tab then 'Sitemaps'. Or if it's the new Google Search Console, click to go to the page. Usually there is in the upper left corner on the Webmaster Tools dashboard.
To enter, press the red button in the right corner whose writing is more or less like this 'Add a Sitemap'. The fields will appear, all you have to do is just enter sitemap.xml behind the blog URL. After that press 'Send'.
Then the sitemap will appear in the list provided. Google Robot will work and explore the contents of our blog. If not everything has been crawled, the results will say 'Pending'. But if it works, the whole sitemap is drawn, a display like the following will appear.
That means, your blog has been successfully reported to Google. For example, the above blog has already detected 44 articles. Every time we update on a blog, the webmaster tools will also work to report to Google that there is an update.
"Hey Google, POPREVAENG has done an update, if anyone is looking for this problem, please show it to the lucky person," we thought communication between them.
Although it has been submitted entirely to Webmaster Tools for business celebrations, it does not mean this tool has no role. If a lot of data has been collected, they can provide good input for our website going forward. So periodically visit it.
But we have done the main and most first task as a blogger. Verifying as a sign that this blog is ours, can no longer be claimed by others and continue the task to be crawled by search engines by submitting a sitemap.
May be useful. If there is anything else you want to ask about in connection with Search Console aka Google Webmaster Tools, please share in the comments column. I will be happy to help, even many other friends who are also ready to provide input.
Greetings creations!
image source blogooblok.com
