How to Set Up Google Webmaster Tools on a Blog

Adding Google Webmaster Tools is just as essential as adding Google Analytics. The 2 go hand in hand. With Webmaster Tools you can do a variety of things such as:
1)Submit an XML Sitemap
2)Set Crawler Access
3)See internal site links
4)See Top Search Queries
5)See keywords that earned a clickthrough
6)See external links to your site (backlinks)
7)View site errors in including crawl errors

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Computer
• Blog powered by wordpress
• A Google Account (its free)

1. 
    
   Add your website to google Webmaster Tools

   Get an account with Google (its free) or use an existing one. Then go to the Google Webmaster Tools home page: www.google.com/webmasters/tools
   Log in and click the add a site button. Type in the URL of your website and click add.

2. 
    
   Webmaster Tools Meta Tag

   Once you have clicked add your site you will be taken to a Verification Screen with a Meta Tag you will need to insert into the code of your Wordpress website.

3. 
    
   Log into your Wordpress Admin area and go to the Theme Editor

   Open a new tab or browser window and log into the backend/admin area of your website. Once you into the admin area; on the left hand navigation bar there is a Tab for Appearance. Under the Appearance Tab click on the Editor link to get into the Wordpress Theme Editor.

4. 
    
   Edit Header.php File

   Under the Theme files on the right click on the Header template. This is where you must put the META tag for it to work properly. Next you will need to make a space for the code to be inserted. So find the line of text in the editor window that says "meta http" tag and hit enter after it.

5. 
    
   Paste in meta tag

   Now you should have an empty line between the "meta http" code and the "title" code. Paste in the META code from the Webmaster Tools verification page. Next click the Update File button at the bottom of the Theme Editor page.

6. 
    
   View Source Code to see added META tag

   This Step is Optional: Open another window or tab and go to the home page of your website. View the source code by clicking the View Drop Down menu within your browser. Page Source is at the bottom....or just use CTRL-U....you should be able to see the tag that was just inserted.

7. 
    
   Click Verify in Webmaster Tools

   Once you can see the code within the Page Source; go back to your Webmaster Tools Verification page and click the Verify button.

8. 
    
   Website data on Dashboard of Webmaster tools

   If everything worked correctly you should see data populate on your dashboard.