Moz Q&A is closed.
After more than 13 years, and tens of thousands of questions, Moz Q&A closed on 12th December 2024. Whilst we’re not completely removing the content - many posts will still be possible to view - we have locked both new posts and new replies. More details here.
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
-
Backlink From Different Language Sites Will Spoil My Ranking?
Hi there! Excited to joining this community. The main question is that if I get backlinks from different language sites then that backlink will be worthy or non-worthy in the eye of search engine? I know if I target international market by presenting my content in different languages then of course it will be worthwhile for me. But what will be happened if I do not represent content in different languages on my site but get the backlines from other language sites such as: Chinese, Russian or any other? Also I have seen many sites which are getting backlinks from different language sites and they are just getting high authority. Is there any expert?
SEO Learn Center | | mianarfan3331 -
What are the most effective SEO methods for online communities and forums?
My company has a global online community of over 350,000+ members. We allow users to submit articles revolving around the scrum and agile framework. Sometimes the submissions become overwhelming and I am curious if there is anyone out there who may have experience with this same scenario. I don't want to place meta data on every single article that comes in, because I don't have the resources nor time to optimize each and every article. Does anyone have techniques or suggestions in regards to either leaving the meta data untouched or customizing each individual piece? Any thoughts or ideas will be extremely helpful. Thanks
SEO Learn Center | | ScrumAlliance0 -
Books to Read?
Hi All Does anyone have any book recommendations for a digital marketer looking to expand his knowledge. Im aware that obviously in such a fast paced industry books can go out of date very quickly so was just wondering if anyone had read any worth reading? Thanks in advance
SEO Learn Center | | TheZenAgency0 -
Family locksmith buisness
So i started running a SEO campaign for a locksmith business, i have been reading a lot of guide about ON page editing, the website is on wordpress and i have partial control over the pages, im not trying to compite in a very high keywords values, and only in local area, i got the website to the first 2 pages but since then it went down to the 3rd page on 2 of the main search keywords there is no news or updates i can really do on locksmith world at least not daily or weekly theres nothing to update, i have been keyword researcing and im changing words and researcing every once in a few days if the words change,using google tools.i got Moz crawl diagnostic results and im getting errors that i think doesnt exist, for example Too many on-page links on pages with no links at all,or title element too long when its not., most errors are Rel Canonical but i have no idea how to fix them on wordpress, also how many of you think meta description is worth writing? im getting possitive and negitive comments about it, last thing i want to say is, i got a 200$ monthly budget to SEO this website and would like to know where should i invest these 200$ every month to promote it to the first page,i am not looking for someone to do my work for me but for useful tips, i have thought about buying moz advance program for 100$ a month but not quiet sure if that what i even need. this locksmith campaign is the only one im running because its my own family business.. the website address is fastlocksmithdc.com
SEO Learn Center | | shay270 -
Where can I get all of the slides from Mozcon '13? I attended.
I heard several people on the Moz team and on the Speaker list mention that the slides would be available after the conference. Does anyone know where I can find them? Thanks!
SEO Learn Center | | joltz0 -
How to ask Google to remove old pages that don't exist
I have moved a site to a new location. There are a number of pages that date back to 2012 and 2011 and we do not want them anymore. Is there a way to ask Google to remove these pages entirely.
SEO Learn Center | | mayanksaxena0 -
Will the Mozcon DVDs be available for sale?
I'd love LOVE to get out there for the real deal (and a Roger the Robot figure), but the budget isn't there. Any chance the DVDs will go on sale after the conference?
SEO Learn Center | | fbarnett1
