Have You Search Engine Verified Your Website?

Writing by Nick Stamoulis

One of the most important things you can do as a webmaster as a start to your search engine optimization efforts is to verify your site with the search engines. This proves to them that you are the owner and they’ll share valuable information with you about how you can better manage your site. Here’s where to go to get your site verified with each of the search engines.

• Google – Webmaster Tools
• Bing – Webmaster Central

1. Open a new browser window and go to the Search Engine page where you enabled the Sitemap feature.
2. Enter the Sitemap verification file name up to and including the .html file extension and click Done (see figure 1).
3. Publish your Order Settings.

Site verification is one of the most important things you can do as a site owner because each of the search engines offers you tools to manage your site better and in many cases they can help you solve problems. For instance, if your site is hacked and infected with malware, Google will replace your site’s content with a public notice telling visitors that your site is a malware distributor. You can login to your account and get instructions on how to remove the malware and get your site reviewed and restored to normal.

Without such tools, your site could still get hacked, but it would be much more difficult to correct the issue, or to detect it in the first place. Site verification is a huge benefit and should not be left out when you start a new site.