How can I detect Google Webmaster tools without asking my client?
-
Hi Guys,
I am running an audit for a client and one of the things I investigate is if they have a Google and BING webmaster tools . Also I am trying to detect if they have submitted any XML sitemaps. Is there a way for me to be able to detect these by making a simple search on google or not?
Thank you Mozzers!
-
Yes the presence of BingSiteAuth.xml or the lack-thereof doesn't really give you a definitive answer, but it does give you a little insight into the situation.
There is really no way to know for sure if they have activated or are using Webmaster Tools accounts unfortunately, unless you have access to their email accounts.
-
Thank you guys for all of your answers. It seems that I'll need to ask them!
@Bradley: It seems that this is a good technique whether they install it via BING but I know bing also offers other techniques to verify WMT so even if I don't find it, it could mean either they don't have it or they do(using other verification process), right?
-
I am not aware of anyway to determine if a site has implemented Google Webmaster Tools or not, as they could have verified it with by uploading a randomly named file, or through Google Analytics. I would say if they are fairly large site and have Google Analytics (which you can determime by viewing the source code of the site) they probably have GWMT as well.
To determine if Bing Webmaster Tools are in use, you can go to http://example.com/BingSiteAuth.xml (replace the domain name) and see if the file exists. If it does, then they activated Bing Webmaster Tools. If the file does not exist, it either means that they never activated Bing Webmaster Tools, or they did and were smart enough to delete the file from their server.
Hope this helps!
-
There is no way to determine that, not unless you have access to the code and can verify the footprint the .html upload verification process leaves behind. For audit purposes, we just verify that a sitemap exists.. not whether or not it has been uploaded.
Best course of action is to talk to them.. ask them. Then, if they haven't, go ahead and work with them setting it up.
-
I don't believe you can find out if someone is using Webmaster tools or not. However, you can easily check to see if they have a sitemap by filetype:xlm sitemap site:domain.com (you may have to play around with this). Also, this doesn't mean it has been submitted as well.
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Verification of https domain in webmaster tool
Hi guys, I'm having a problem to verify domain with https in webmaster tools. Does anybody know how to verify it? Thanks
SEO Learn Center | | odmsoft0 -
Can you have same product name and description on a local and national site at the same time without getting dinged by google?
My question is regarding a few sites we own which are all related. The local site (http://location.company.com) is a extension of the national main site (http://company.com.) We are in the process of launching these new sites as replacements to older sites we created years ago. My first question regarding SEO is it important to the search engines to have unique product content on both sites even though they promote the same products (with same pictures) and brands or can we keep the same product names and descriptions as I hope? I ask this because essentially they are the same site but with with the exception of the local extension..... We thought by re writing all the content on the main pages of both sites along with different; title tags, page title and meta descriptions that that would make the sites different enough to get away with this. Is that the case? Thank you in advance for your assistance, Jake
SEO Learn Center | | Closetstogo0 -
Google Analytics setup tips and tricks?
I want to see (and possibly compile) other marketers tips and tricks when it came to setting up their Google Analytics. I feel like I sometimes get into a rut when I setup GA for clients and I want to make sure that I'm not getting rusty with it. Some of the things I'm interested in (but not limited to): How do you use dashboards? What funnels do you setup? How do you utilize goals? What are your favorite metrics to report to clients? What are the top items on your checklist when setting up GA? And many others I could include here... I'd be interested in seeing what other marketers include in their GA setup and reporting. These can be super simple or expert level tips and tricks. It's a personal curiosity I have so that I make sure I'm staying up to date with everything but if there is enough participation I will compile everything into a YouMoz post or something as a guide for us to use and share. So please share this question with others if you can. Thanks!
SEO Learn Center | | HashtagJeff2 -
Hi, this is a little off topic but I hope someone can help me. I am looking for a good E Learning provider.
Within our organization we would like to start training our people at our global offices in SEO using E Learning. Just as with SEO, there is so much available, but I don't know who to trust and who not. I was hoping some of you might have some names for me, or experience with certain providers you can recommend. Best regards, Astrid
SEO Learn Center | | Cordstrap0 -
Wrong Descriptions for Title's on Google SERP?
I put descriptions in for each of my product categories a couple months ago and a few of my category pages rank high. The problem is that most of my category pages have the wrong meta description on the SERP. The descriptions that are shown sometimes have the home page description, which isn't a big deal, but some have descriptions of different products and most have descriptions of sub categories. Below is an example of a subcategory description (specialty feeders) for a main category: Co-matic Power Feeders - Products - Shop Gear Inc <cite>www.shopgearinc.com/products/co-matic-power-feeders/</cite>Specialty Feeders. Specialty Co-matic feeders are built for use on a variety of machines and for specific operations. Shop Gear supplies a variety of specialty **...****Any Suggestions?**Thanks
SEO Learn Center | | kysizzle60 -
Does canonical links rank in Google?
Our company has many pages that use the canonical tag. Will these pages rank in the search engine or will it pass the strength on to the original page?
SEO Learn Center | | WebRiverGroup0 -
Ask Rand a Question!
Hey Q&Aers, As you probably know, Rand answers one question per PRO newsletter, and I need a question to ask him. Please leave your questions below. (I generally give Rand a few questions, so he can choose which one to answer, so this is by no means a first come, first serve situation. But please only ask one!) Thanks!
SEO Learn Center | | EricaMcGillivray0