Where is Batman when you need him?
Ok ok, kind of a stretch but the only penguin reference I could come up with on short notice. :) I'll admit I have not read too much about what the latest Google update entails except that it relates to the Google Webmaster Guidelines.
*playing devil's advocate*
What about sites that do not use Google Webmaster Tools? They could be penalized for something they did not even know about. To be honest, I do not use the Webmaster tools so I have no idea what the guidelines say. Are my sites in jeopardy?
I don't think I am doing anything wrong on my sites..as far as I know..not spamming content, not spamming links, etc. But what if there is a line in the guidelines that says all sites have to have a 14x14pixel purple block in the corner of the homepage?
Suddenly I am violating their arbitrary rules and get dinged!
Is this Google's way of forcing everyone to use their tools? Couldn't that be construed as monopolistic behavior? Didn't Microsoft get in big trouble for that a few years ago with the whole IE/Windows thing?
True, you don't HAVE to use Google for traffic, but for the beginning IMer it's the easiest place to start.
Am I totally off-base with my thinking? Maybe, like I said I haven't read the EXACT details of the change. :)
But sometimes you gotta question authority just to keep them honest.
Recent Comments
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Google provides their tools like Google Webmaster tools to help alleviate support and give people guidelines as to how THEY want your site to work. The valuable part of Google webmaster tools is that you know exactly where you're getting ranked in the search engines (keyword) and even what position you're getting listed under.
Anyone who wants to optimize their site for Google should use these tools. If you don't you're only hurting yourself.
Google will tell you when their spiders find broken links, when they find soft (and hard 404s). They tell you which pages are taking the longest to load.. All of this information helps you determine how GOOGLE sees your site in terms of being optimized.
Google is a powerhouse.. ya, but if you don't use the tools they give you to help you better your website it's of no benefit to you. You are not forced to do anything or use any particular tool, but this is one that they have provided to help you rank better.
Google isn't forcing you, they're offering it to you. Microsoft was forcing people to use IE as it was bundled with their Operating system and you had no option to remove it. Google offers lots of tools that can help a webmaster but there are many people who about Google and what they are looking for in regards to SEO. This one of the reasons people are here at WA...to learn about optimizing their website and not have to sift through Google's terms of service or GUESS how to rank well
Google webmaster tools can offer you insight into how the spiders crawl your site and problems they see. It does nothing other than help you. However, it's not at all necessary to have installed in order to rank in top positions. Google does not penalize you if they don't see that webmaster tools is installed.
My question about being penalized for not having WMT installed was because the Penguin update penalizes sites that don't follow the WM guidelines. If you don't use WMT, then you don't know what those guidelines are...so, in theory, you COULD get penalized for not using WMT.
On the Microsoft thing, I never felt forced to use IE. Yes it was installed, but it didn't stop me from loading and using another browser (which I did). I always thought MS got a raw deal on that one. :)
I agree, WMT WILL help you to follow Google's rules on how they want a site to look/perform. So it is a good thing to use to make sure you are right in their eyes.
Just being 'that' guy.. hehe
The webmaster guidelines and webmaster tools are two different things. WMT doesn't really help you follow any guidelines. It will show you if you've got a broken URL that the spiders can't find, and give you insight into the keywords you are ranking for but it's not going to tell you if you're following the webmaster guidelines or not. If it DID have some kind of check list and told you when you were being bad, now that would be powerful.
On the "IE" front.. first and only thing I use IE for is to download Google Chrome!
Ahhhhh..ok I stand corrected! I thought the guidelines were something you 'agreed to' by using webmaster tools.
..and I FULLY agree on the proper use of IE LOL