Google Webmasters Help FAQ

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Archive for March, 2007

Including multiple (sub-)domains in a Sitemap file

Posted by John Mueller on 11th March 2007

It is not possible to include URLs from multiple domains or subdomains in the same sitemap file. You need to create separate files for each domain (and subdomain).

Keep in mind that “www.domain.com” and “domain.com” are technically subdomains and would need their own sitemap files if you want both in the index. If you have set the preferred domain and/or are doing a canonical 301-redirect you only need to create a sitemap file for the preferred version; you do not need a sitemap file for the non-preferred subdomain.
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I haven’t changed my site but …

Posted by sebastian on 9th March 2007

Often Web sites disappear from the first SERPs all of a sudden. That can happen to established sites doing well with particular keywords over years. Most webmasters look for recent changes to track down the issues Google might have with the site in question. Hold on for a moment. Think. Recent changes, for example adding an XML sitemap or other minor improvements, are just one possible cause of many. There is no such thing as a concurrently correlation when it comes to downrankings, penalties or even bans. Google might have spotted an issue from the stone age. If you lose a reasonable amount of Google traffic, look at the whole site and its environment, do not concentrate your research on recent changes.

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How to access Google services in a different language

Posted by John Mueller on 9th March 2007

Check the URL which you are using to access the service. It is likely to have a component “hl=” in the parameters. After that it will have a two character (in general) language code, “en” for English, “de” for German, “fr” for French, etc. By changing this parameter, the page will be shown in the appropriate language. If it does not have a component called “hl=” in it, just add it to the end.
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Error handling and robots.txt (Apache)

Posted by sebastian on 9th March 2007

Operating a Web site with an incomplete setup can result in search engine invisibility, because misconfigurations can prevent search engines from crawling. Hosting services usually don’t install error handling or robots.txt for new accounts, so the Webmaster has to implement it. Here is a bullet-proof setup for Apache Web servers.
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Optimize for Search Engines or Users

Posted by John Honeck on 9th March 2007

Matt Cutts answers Google questions: - Which is more important: search engine optimization (SEO) or end user optimization? - What spam detection tools would you recommend? - Does cleanliness of code (W3C) help at all?
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How to structure a site

Posted by John Honeck on 9th March 2007

Matt Cutts answers Google questions: - Merging acquired domains with 301s? - How to create a site architecture with themes and keywords? - My urls have too many parameters–can I serve up static HTML to Googlebot instead? - How to do split A/B testing?
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Static vs. Dynamic Urls

Posted by John Honeck on 9th March 2007

Matt Cutts answers Google questions: - Static vs. Dynamic urls: does PageRank flow the same to both? What pitfalls should I avoid with dynamic urls? - Can Sitemaps alert webmasters when their site has been hacked? - Can I do geotargetting within Google’s Quality Guidelines?
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SEO myths

Posted by John Honeck on 9th March 2007

Matt Cutts answers some Google questions: -

Myths: 1) sites on the same server 2) IP 3) including off-domain JavaScript

Launching sites with millions of pages: how should I do it best? -

Google images: updates on the horizon, and current Google Images technology
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Determining the type of redirect in use

Posted by John Mueller on 9th March 2007

Website redirects can be hard to check - and they can have an influence on crawling and indexing. Search engines can follow [301] and [302 server side redirects] as well as meta refresh redirects. They can not follow [javascript redirects].

If a redirect is made within your site, it is vital that you confirm that the redirect is exactly how you need it to be.
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Commonly used tools

Posted by John Mueller on 9th March 2007

These are just some of the more commonly used tools to diagnose website issues.

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