Imagine you could know every thing that Google knows about you and your blog. Okay so you can’t. But you can know alot and over this past year Google’s packaged more and more of that information in usable chunks.
New Years Resolution 1 Check Out the Depth and Breadth of Google Site Maps
If you’ve not yet checked out Google Site Maps make an appointment with yourself to spend an hour doing so. This image of my site’s overview page will show what you can without downloading anything. I’ve linked it to the Google Site Maps login page so that you can dig right in.
Once you’re there Google asks you to make a verification file and to place it on your server at the root location of your site.
This leads me to Resolution 2, which applies only to the more experienced of our community.
Resolution 2: Be a Hero. Teach someone with a subdomain. If you know how to do this for a subdomain–such as Blogger–that has
- no access to the server
- no separate file for anything, but a flat open template instead,
would you take a subdomain blogger like me or another under your wing and show us how we might get our hands on the information that you can only get after verification?
You might think that since Google owns Blogger, they would offer some sign, some light, signal as to how to do this. But alas and alack, as in many major corporations, such communication is vapor on the wind. We must scratch and scrape. We are left bereft to find our way through the dark relying on the kindness of friends.
Translation: I’m dying to know what else I might find behind that curtain. Especially since the tabs the curtain covers are called stats and errors.
So there’s the quest. Is there a modern-day Lancelot or Guinevere would take up this gauntlet? Is there someone who tell me what Google should have told me? . . . Please.
–Me “Liz” Strauss
For those who might be looking for me, I’m fine. I’m just unable to post right now. For some reason, my password has jammed and I can’t get in touch with the admin to reset it. Be back as soon as I can.
Liz
Liz,
I took a look, and I just don’t know of any way to do this with Blogger or even WordPress.com. I didn’t see any alternative, either. Sheesh. Don’t the people in Google talk to each other? Google Blogger people, get on the stick!
I thought that maybe you could put the code of a file into your template, but actually the verification file is blank. It’s just the existence of the file that Google needs to see, and it has to be exactly where Google says to put it.
Sorry.
THANK YOU SABINE!
For confirming that the folks at Google don’t talk to each other. But then, we already knew that. 😛
I know. I think you have to start a new blog for the verification file.
Thanks for trying. I didn’t know you had those skillsa as well.
SUPER SABINE!!
Liz
Liz,
Google updated their sitemaps validation process. Folks now have the option of putting some “metadata” into the template file, which folks with a Blogger blog can do.
http://www.google.com/support/webmasters/bin/answer.py?answer=35659&topic=8509
Yea! Thanks Sabine for adding that link. You are a jewel for remembering that. I’m going to put this post on new blogger page.
Finally Google supports their own platform!