If you want to improve your website's SEO and increase its visibility in search engines, start by registering in the webmaster tools of Yandex (Russia's leading search engine) and Google. These tools provide a wealth of data that will help you find and fix errors and improve the site's structure and content. Let's look at how to add a site to the webmaster tools and which key metrics are worth checking.
Adding your site to Google Search Console and Yandex Webmaster
1. Google Search Console
- Link: Google Search Console
- How to add a site:
- Follow the link and sign in to your Google account.
- Click “Add property,” enter your site's address, and choose a verification method.
- Verify ownership of the site using one of the available methods: an HTML file, an HTML tag, Google Analytics, or a DNS record with your domain provider.
2. Yandex Webmaster
- Link: Yandex Webmaster
- How to add a site:
- Go to the site and sign in to your Yandex account.
- Click “Add site” and enter the site's URL.
- Verify ownership of the site via an HTML file, a meta tag, Yandex Metrica, or a record with your domain provider.
Once the site has been added, you can use the many features of these tools for analysis and optimization.
Top 5 metrics to check in the webmaster tools to improve SEO
1. Site diagnostics (Yandex Webmaster)
- Where to find it: In Yandex Webmaster, open the “Diagnostics” section.
- What to check: Here you will find critical errors and warnings that prevent the site from working properly. Pay attention to problems such as:
- Pages returning 404 errors.
- Crawlability of the site and availability of individual pages.
- Indexing problems, such as blocked pages.
- What to do: Fix the errors that may be hindering page indexing or preventing users from accessing important sections.
2. Indexing report and crawl errors (Google Search Console)
- Where to find it: The “Page indexing” report.
- What to check: Find out which pages Google indexes successfully and which produce errors (for example, pages returning 404 or blocked pages).
- What to do: Fix the errors so that Google can fully index your site. Make sure important pages are not blocked from crawling.
3. Mobile usability
- Why it matters: Mobile traffic makes up a significant share of site visitors, and search engines pay close attention to optimization for mobile devices.
- Where to find it: In Google Search Console, the “Mobile Usability” section.
- What to check: Here you will see errors related to how the site displays on mobile devices, such as elements placed too close together or content that extends beyond the screen.
- What to do: Fix the mobile errors so that smartphone and tablet users can browse the site comfortably.
4. Performance (page load speed)
- Why it matters: Fast loading improves the user experience and has a positive effect on SEO.
- Where to find it: In Google Search Console, the “Core Web Vitals” section; you can also use Google PageSpeed Insights to check speed.
- What to check: Pay attention to FCP (First Contentful Paint) and LCP (Largest Contentful Paint), as well as CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift) and TBT (Total Blocking Time).
- What to do: Optimize pages by compressing images, using caching, and reducing the amount of code. This will help pages load faster.
5. Search query analysis and CTR (Click-Through Rate)
- Why it matters: CTR shows how often users click on your site in search results, which affects rankings.
- Where to find it: In Google Search Console, the “Performance” section; in Yandex Webmaster, the “Search queries” section.
- What to check: Review the queries users use to find your site, along with positions and the number of clicks. A high CTR and high positions mean the content answers the queries.
- What to do: Optimize pages for queries with a high CTR, add keywords, and improve your snippets to make them more appealing to users.
By using these five metrics in the Yandex and Google webmaster tools, you will better understand how search engines see your site and be able to set it up for successful promotion.
Tags
