Archive for October 27th, 2008
Get Your Links Back! New Feature In Google Webmaster Tools
Google has added an important feature to the Google Webmaster tools area.
Google tells you exactly which pages result in a 404 error on your site. This has existed for sometime. They now let you know which of your 404 pages have links pointing to them. I used this tool and quickly found links pointing to [...]
Google has added an important feature to the Google Webmaster tools area.
Google tells you exactly which pages result in a 404 error on your site. This has existed for sometime. They now let you know which of your 404 pages have links pointing to them. I used this tool and quickly found links pointing to non existent pages for many of my domains. Of course, this was quickly rectified with 301 redirects.
Google wants to give you this information for a few reasons:
- 404s creates a bad user experience
- It benefits YOU. Google wants to count the valid links pointing to your site which translates into better rankings and more visibility on Google.
- Having links to 404s can skew their algorithm.
Here are some more detailed posts regarding the change:
- Google Webmaster Central posts information their blog.
- Free Links to Your Site by Matt Cutts
- Google’s New Tools for Site Link Strengthening by Search Engine Watch.
