Google Webmaster Tools provides an extremely useful set of information under Top search queries (find it under “Your site on the web”). It provides a sanity check to ensure site content matches the searches that visitors are using to get to the site.

This tool has two statistical tables: Impressions and Clickthrough. Impressions lists the top Google searches where the site appeared combined with the site’s average ranking in those search results. Clickthrough lists the top Google searches where visitors clicked through to the site.

The following information is available in the two tables:

#: The ranking for the query
%: The percentage of the top 100 queries represented by the listed queries
Query: The keyword used
Position: The highest position any page from the site ranked for the query. Note that this data is dynamically averaged over the past week.

After comparing the two tables, consider the ways to make site content more compelling so users click through to the site in search engine results pages. This is where page title and meta description are critical, since this content will appear in search results.

Google also notes that this data may differ from Google Analytics since Webmaster Tools processes data to eliminate duplicates and visits from robots. Google Analytics will also only track traffic from users with JavaScript enabled in their browser.

• Performance overview: how long it takes your site to load (measured in seconds), how this compares to other sites, and an assessment of this measurement’s accuracy based on the number of data points.

• Page Speed suggestions: suggestions on how to optimize pages from the site based on the Page Speed tool. Google not only provides these suggestions, but also an estimate of the potential improvement in file transfer size or speed if implemented.

A Page Speed browser add-on is also available here to evaluate page performance and provide solutions for improvement.

One thing to note: Google includes a disclaimer that Webmaster Tools Labs features may change, break, or disappear at any time.  Hurry up and check it out.

Word Exceptions

• Commonly used words like ‘a’ and ‘the’ are usually ignored, but there are exceptions [the hobbit]
• To avoid synonym replacement of words in a query, insert a ‘+’ before the word to disable this feature
• Google may omit a word from the query if other evidence indicates that the page is relevant

Watching Punctuation

• Terms containing punctuation with a specific meaning are not ignored: [ASP.NET]
• The dollar sign will change results, delivering price-related information: [iPod 60] vs. [iPod $60]
• The hyphen can be used to indicated a strong link between two words. Note that a space before the hyphen will change this indication to a negative sign and omit the attached term from the search. [video game] vs. [video-game]
• The underscore symbol can be used to connect two words [video_game]

[Background information provided by Google Web Search Help]

• Phrase search: put double quotes around the search phrase.  This tells Google to search for those words in that order, no changes.
• Search within a specific website: [ diamondbacks site:mlb.com ] will return pages about the diamondbacks only from mlb.com. Classes of sites can also be specified: [ mba site:.edu ].
• Exclude terms: attach a minus sign immediately before a word to avoid pages containing that word in the search results: [ arizona diamondbacks -snakes ]
• Fill in the blanks: use an asterisk to replace whole words when searching for unknown terms.  [ Diamondbacks * world series winners ]
• Search exactly as is: use the plus sign immediately before a word (no spaces) to have Google match the word exactly as typed.  Putting double quotes around a single word is another way to use this feature.
• OR operator: to specifically allow either one of multiple words, use the OR operator (or the pipe |) to separate the terms. [ Diamondbacks 2001 OR 2002 ]

Coming next time: exceptions to these rules.

[Background information provided by Google Web Search Help]

Before any SEO work can be fully consumed by search engines, a site has to be crawled by those engines. Web crawlers are automatic programs that browse the web automatically and methodically. They provide feedback to the search engine regarding the potential path (and pitfalls) a site visitor may see. If a crawler encounters any problems reaching pages on a site, there’s impact on SEO. A search engine can’t index a page that it is unable to reach.

Crawl errors can include pages not found, URLs not followed, URLs timed out, and HTTP errors. Any of these errors can prevent a web crawler from navigating the site properly. It is critical to constantly monitor crawl errors (Google Webmaster Tools provides this information for free) to ensure that any pages that should be crawled are accessible.

When a site is crawled successfully, the actual site matches the site map, much like the roads matching a roadmap. SEO efforts can be lost quickly if a search engine can’t get to the optimized content without encountering errors.

When a company creates a local business listing on the web, consistency continues to be a key factor.  Humans can often overlook minor errors in spelling or addresses, but search engines may have a hard time if something isn’t an exact match.  In order to build a consistent, strong online presence, it’s a good idea to keep a standard set of core company information.  This includes the following list:

- Official company name
- Address (listed the same way it would appear on a physical letter)
- Phone number, including area code
- Website
- Contact email
- Company description

Consistency in local business listings will help build a prominent web presence.  Keeping your information consistent reinforces your presence with the search engines and doesn’t diffuse your online optimization efforts.

Now consider the phone book. Official versions date back to the 19th Century. Printed phone books, though still widely used, are now in decline. This trend has accelerated over the past few years, including a key moment in 2007 when, according to Google Trends, the path of descent for “yellow pages” was crossed by an ascending nemesis: Google Maps. Business listings in search engine results as well as improvements in local search have effectively pushed the printed phone book aside, its popularity and usage dropping like a brick.

What does this all mean? Online local business listings are becoming the de facto standard. Rather than taking time to find the cumbersome phone book, individuals will jump on Google or Bing and perform a local search on their smartphone. Businesses that focus on building an effective local listing will move to the forefront and have a prominent position in the search engine results pages.

As for the latest issue of the phone book, it’ll look just fine tucked underneath that old rotary phone.

1. Crawling
Crawling is how pages, either new or updated, are recognized, discovered, and “read” by Google.  Google uses a program called Googlebot that determines the pattern of searching sites, including where, when, and how much searching happens.  Google offers this as a free service and doesn’t accept payment to crawl a site more frequently.

2. Indexing
Once Google has crawled a site, it processes the site’s content and identifies words and positions of the words in the page.  All of this information is compiled in an index.  Google notes that this process has some limitations, including dynamic content and rich media content.

3. Serving Results
When a user enters a search term on Google, the returned results are what Google believes are the most relevant to the user.  Google determines relevancy by over 200 factors, including PageRank (the measure of importance of the page based on other pages linking to it).  Google continues to improve the discernment of quality links versus spam links.  Google also notes that content that is relevant and useful to the reader plays a big part in page selections and results.

Search engine optimization obviously extends far beyond these three areas, but these basic categories are important aspects of being recognized in the Google search process.

[Background information provided by Google Webmasters/Site owners Help]

As much as we’d like to always have the promise of a top ranking fulfilled, the truth is that there is no way to guarantee top rankings.  Watch the top search engine optimization providers, and a common theme is the absence of top ranking guarantees.  Here are a few points to note:

• Rankings fluctuate by nature.  This is not only due to the site and search engines, but the parameters related to the individual performing the search.
• Rankings don’t always mean success.  SEO should contribute to increased site traffic; if rankings are high but traffic doesn’t improve, the efforts are in vain.
• Quoting Google, “No one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google.”  Google says to beware of the “special relationship” and “priority submit” claims by some SEO firms.  There is no priority submit for Google. [Google Webmasters/Site owners Help]
• Read the fine print and make sure the SEO firm provides a clear plan for how the site will be optimized.  Anything that sounds shady, non-traditional, or even unethical should be avoided.

The best strategy for effective SEO is a long-term perspective, making necessary adjustments as the competitive landscape and search engines change.  The old adage is certainly true when applied to SEO and top rankings: “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is”.  Guaranteed.

Once you pay the initial setup fee for SEO, you will (and should) be interested in seeing improvements in your company’s overall visibility on the web. Ongoing SEO requires individual attention to each site. It includes adjusting efforts over time, continuing to make site changes, building links, and adjusting keywords based on past search results and statistics.

SEO management allows your web presence and availability to grow over time. After the initial cost, improvements from monthly service can contribute to an ongoing return on investment. Search engines and competitors will continually change, so monthly maintenance ensures a competitive edge.