Sunday, August 27, 2006

Google Sitemaps and Webmaster Central

If you read that particular chapter in Googlepedia, you know that one of the ways to enhance your search ranking with Google is to create a sitemap for your site. Well, don't freak out, but Google Sitemaps is no more. It isn't gone, however; Google has just integrated it into a new set of Google Webmaster Tools. The Sitemaps protocol still works just like it did before, it's just under a new name.

The name change is part of a new site initiative that Google calls Google Webmaster Central. This new site is a one-stop-shop for webmasters trying to optimize their sites for the Google search engine, and includes site submission tools, a site status wizard (so you can find out if site is currently indexed by Google), a discussion group and blog for webmasters, a webmaster help center, and the aforementioned Webmaster Tools, of which Sitemaps is just one of several. If you run your own website, this new Webmaster Central is definitely worth checking out.

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