Preventing Problems With Google
The first step in preventing Web site problems with Google is to add your site to Google Webmaster Tools.
That means that you have to be physically able to verify your site. And, add a sitemap. With WordPress blogs there are plugins that automatically maintain an XML format sitemap. For other types of sites, a static text format sitemap is more than enough to at least start with.
Many free Web site hosting services will prevent you from verifying ownership of your site. If that applies to you, then you should expect to be operating a crippled Web site right off from the start. If you are physically unable to even verify your site and add a sitemap, then you know right off that your present hosting service is a source of problems for your Web site. Nevertheless, operating a Free Web site does not automatically doom your Web site. It restricts your SEO possibilities.
While creating a sitemap might sound daunting at first, no Web site operator should be without at least a text listing of every Web page on their site. There are many free programs available for creating a sitemap. And, you can do it manually in any text editor. There is nothing wrong with a text format sitemap for a small Web site.
Of course, joining webmaster tools means that you are ready for Google to add your site to their search engine. Thus, if your site is still under construction. Do NOT add it to webmasters tools until it has been developed enough for the first crawl. This means at least a dozen or so fully developed Web pages that have been linked to each other.
Making sure that you have added a robots.txt file would also be a great idea. It will allow you to verify just how Google is reacting to your robots.txt file. At the very least, you need to get Google to accept it the way you intended. Later on you can worry about the other search engines in this key Web site management text file.
Everything in Google happens very slowly. It will take usually at least 30 days, from the date of the first crawl to get some good information from being in webmasters tools. The best information might take a few months to develop. And, it could easily take several weeks before your site is crawled. Adding your site to Google Webmaster Tools will inform you about your site. It will tell you whether or not your site has been added to the Google Search Engine index. The last date that your home page was crawled. Plus, much more information. Of course, do not expect really fantastic information from Google. A good stastical package for your Web site is also highly recommended.
And, on the downside, if you ever managed to get your site banned from Google; you might actually receive notification of it at Webmaster Tools in their message feature.
