Google has worked hard over the years to compile a comprehensive set of tools for webmasters. Especially for those less familiar with the concepts of SEO and website operation, Google’s webmaster tools are an amazing resource. However, these tools aren’t a focal project for Google, and are often left somewhat outdated or disorganized. Happily, Google has helped address at least some of these issues by creating a “one page stop” for core webmaster links, forms, and resources.
This page works as a sort of portal page, making it simple for webmasters to figure out where to go next. It provides quick links to the most commonly visited areas of the site, provides suggested articles, and answers the most frequently asked questions from one location. Additionally, it links to other great webmaster resources, such as the webmaster guidelines documentation, webmaster help forums, the webmaster blog, the Webmaster YouTube channel, and more.
Web Pro News quoted Mariya Moeva, a Google Search Quality Team representative, as she discussed the webmaster tools. “There’s no shortage of useful information, but sometimes the relevant bits may be a bit difficult to locate.”
In regards to the new page and layout, Moeva states, “We’ve tried to make our most frequently searched information as accessible and visible as possible: We analysed the questions asked over the past year and a half and identified the issues you are most interested in.”
Of course, some additions were simply a necessary additional step for one of Google’s other recent changes: the addition of a malware warning on their search engine results page for sites that seemed to be compromised. Considering the dramatic loss in traffic these sites are bound to receive, the ability to have webmasters apply for re-review of their page was essential.
