Santa Search Tips from Google

Santa Search Tips from Google

I received the strangest email from the Google Adsense team an hour ago…Santa Search Tips. Basically it is a simple game designed by Google to help you understand some of Google’s search basics SEO Tips. The site is a .co.nz, so it is possible that the email only went out to New Zealand Adsense publishers. [...]

Author : Simon

Author's Website | Articles from Simon

The creator of Pingable. We write about everything Wordpress.

I received the strangest email from the Google Adsense team an hour ago…Santa Search Tips. Basically it is a simple game designed by Google to help you understand some of Google’s search basics SEO Tips. The site is a .co.nz, so it is possible that the email only went out to New Zealand Adsense publishers. It is all good stuff. I have gone through the pain of finding all 15 of the tips for you:

Tip #1 If you’re unsure…

if all your pages are being seen by Google, search for your site’s address after the command “site”, ie site:yourwebsite.com. When you see your pages in the results, check your snippet content and page titles. Include information that matches the product or category of products on a particular page. If anything is missing or you want more details, you can also use the Content Analysis Tool in Webmaster Tools.

Tip #2 Did you know?

if you upload new products faster then Google crawls your site, you should submit a Google Sitemap to include a refresh rate.

Tip #3 Remember to…

label your images appropriately. Don’t miss out on potential customers because of [001.jpg] instead of [NintendoWii.jpg] Images Search is one of the largest search properties out there, so take advantage of it.

Tip #4 Make sure you…

manage your Sitelinks. Your most valuable links may not be the ones that Google chooses as Sitelinks, so remember to remove any that you don’t think will benefit your users.

Tip #5 Don’t forget to…

check for error and keyword traffic in Webmaster Tools. See our diagnostics checklist.

Tip #6 It’s important to…

serve accurate HTTP status codes. If you’re permanently out of a product, serve a 404. I you have permanently moved a product to a new page, serve a 301. The more we know about your old pages, the better.

Tip #7 Consistency is key…

if your website directs customers to a brick and mortar store, make sure you double check you business listing in Google Local.

Tip #8 Take a few minutes…

to test the usability of your checkout process. Ask yourself if a user can get from product page to checkout without assistance? Is your checkout button easy to find?

Tip #9 There’s no doubt about it…

users and search engines like fresh content. We recommend original product descriptions or a product review section on your site.

Tip #10 Have you thought of?

reading our recently released SEO Starter Guide?

Tip #11 Would you like an overview of our top tips?

Watch our Tutorials for Webmasters.

Tip  #12 You can always…

find out what information Google has about your website in Webmaster Tools.

Tip #13 For even more tips…

get the latest updates from the Webmaster Central Blog.

Tip #14 You can always…

answer your other questions in our Webmaster Help Center.

Tip #15 It’s never too late to…

ask your last-minute questions in the Webmaster Help.

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User Comments


  1. ArnoWingen from Studenten Lenen
    December 19, 2008

    Pretty cool tips. I haven’t received these. I’m an Adsense publisher based in Europe, so I think you’re right about them sending it to Adsense publishers in your region.



  2. Kevin from Great Wall of China Facts
    December 19, 2008

    Thanks for the great tips. I haven’t heard many of these before.



  3. Ian Brodie from Sales Blog
    December 20, 2008

    As you’d expect, most of the tips are pretty obvious & well known. I hadn’t thought that image keywords were so important though.

    The 404 for an out of stock product is madness though. No real online store is going to serve up a 404 for a discontinued product line. They’re going to want to redirect to an explanation and list of similar products or alternatives.

    Ian



  4. Robin from ecommerce SEO
    December 22, 2008

    I am an adsense publisher too, but didnot receive the mail. Anyway thanks for the share.



  5. tony from Best cheap web hosting.
    December 22, 2008

    I use the first 9 tips all the time. Some of the others i use sometimes. I have to see if they sent me the email i have not checked email today.

    I see so many sites not use tip number 3 all the time. Everyone should use it and alt tags.



  6. Jordan from swimsuit coverups
    December 22, 2008

    these are some great tips, when i was searching i didn’t think this would be a post focused on the other side of commerce but i got a lot of good info out of it anyhow. thanks.



  7. Cashmere Lashkari
    December 27, 2008

    Hi,
    Thanks for all the great tips. Have recently got my own blog and am not aware of all the things that I can do to push its popularity.
    This list will help.



  8. Cashmere from Pedestal Dining Table
    December 27, 2008

    I’m still a bit lost with Web Master Tools. This will give me an idea about what I really need to do. Thanks for sharing the amazing tips.



  9. Desktop background
    December 28, 2008

    I strongly disagree with the number 9. SEs don’t gave a damn about fresh content, look at many high PR websites (e.g. Google.com is the best example).



  10. Jerry
    December 29, 2008

    Thanks for the great tips. I think this is very suitable for a business site, that sells merchandise online, however there is some great info out there for the rest of us.



  11. Sarika from diode laser hair removal
    December 29, 2008

    Now this is a post I will be returning to after the new year. Lots of useful information. Thanks for sharing. Have a great 2009!



  12. Jeff from Nashville Properties
    December 30, 2008

    Thank you so much for the awesome tips that I might use in my business. Great share.



  13. samasamon
    December 30, 2008

    these are some great tips, when i was searching i didn’t think this would be a post focused on the other side of commerce but i got a lot of good info out of it anyhow. thanks.



  14. Neil from Bartul
    December 31, 2008

    It’s interesting that they came out with those tips. Still, it’s a bit strange. I wonder what the thought process there was. I wonder if there’s any misdirection involved here.



  15. Justin from Airsoft Rifles
    December 31, 2008

    I played that game for so long, it was pretty fun. Thanks for getting all the tips so I didn’t have to keep playing. The last six aren’t even tips, just links. I would’ve expected a little more effort from Google.



  16. ArnoWingen from sleutelverklaring
    January 1, 2009

    Whatever happened to Google being sort of ‘against’ SEO? Reading the comments on this post, I also think someone’s trying some misdirection by using the Google name…



  17. greg from glasses on line
    January 1, 2009

    Thanks for sharing the tips. The little present throwing game was fun too although the farthest I got was 147.



  18. mmo
    January 2, 2009

    Interesting, nice to see they at least want to help people succeed by showing them where to start.



  19. Andy from onlinechristianbusiness
    January 2, 2009

    Thanks for the great resource. It seems like The Big G (no the other Big G) is trying to give us hints as far as what we need to do to get the most out of the system. At least I hope so and it doesn’t turn out to be red herrings.



  20. Music Man
    January 2, 2009

    thanks for sharing all the great tips.



  21. Fred
    January 2, 2009

    Thanks for the list of tips. They all sound great and very useful. Google is full of good SEO advice if I take the time to search it out. This list will save a lot of time.



  22. Jamie from Auckland Air Conditioning
    January 3, 2009

    I am also an Adsense publisher in NZ but never got the email…

    Some real nice tips though, thanks for sharing!



  23. Joe from Spokane South Hill Properties
    January 5, 2009

    Thank you so much for sharing a cool tips that I might use. Keep up the good job.



  24. Spot from Shuttle D10
    January 5, 2009

    On tip#1 you mentioned checking to see if Google is seeing all of your pages. Well, what do you do if Google is missing a page? Do you have tips for “forcing” Google to look at it?



  25. Simon
    January 5, 2009


  26. Richard from Littman Bros.
    January 6, 2009

    Good tips. Thanks for condensing them for us. These are things everyone should be keeping track of.



  27. Oly from Amsterdam web design
    January 7, 2009

    Thank u for sharing, there are some tips i wasnt familier with. these tips come in handy when u create a new website.



  28. Kevin from Nashville Properties
    January 7, 2009

    Thanks a lot for the awesome tips that I might use next time. Keep it up.



  29. James from Discount Codes
    January 8, 2009

    What Desktop backgrounds has said is true – for now. This will probably change significantly as Google moves more to basing results on LSI.



  30. Karen from Blazing Minds
    January 9, 2009

    I use several of these tips already, but there are a few which I will have to implement.



  31. Tatiana from blog about our life
    January 9, 2009

    Great tips, I do like them, thanks for sharing and keep up your good work.



  32. Krishna
    January 12, 2009

    Well thanks for sharing such nice tips. Hope it will surely help all the bloggers.



  33. Gesunde Ernährung
    January 14, 2009

    Great, really great tips. Although it’s already January, your santa tips make my day. I took notes of your tips and gladly apply those – NOW.



  34. Janet Bondrucker
    January 14, 2009

    Thanks for the tips and for summarize it.



  35. alaska fishing
    January 14, 2009

    That first Google tip doesn’t really work for me. I can find pages that it doesn’t return from the querie with a simple Goggle search. Weird.



  36. ebay
    January 15, 2009

    Wow, this list is good. Number 8 is very important. It would be a shame to build a site and have people not be able to find their shopping cart. We have all been to some of these sites. Fortunately this aspect seems to be improving of late.



  37. Jeff from Springfield IL Mortgage
    January 21, 2009

    I am kinda late to know about this. But, I want to say thank you for the tips that I might use next Christmas.



  38. Charles from Las Vegas Homes
    January 21, 2009

    Some of these tips I haven’t seen before.
    “Tip #9 There’s no doubt about it…

    users and search engines like fresh content. We recommend original product descriptions or a product review section on your site.”

    That can be applied to any time of site, not just ecommerce. Fresh content will keep Googlebot coming back to your site. Plus the more content you add, the great potential to draw in more visitors.



  39. Theresa
    January 22, 2009

    Great tips. You surely have given me lots of things to do with my site. But I’m looking forward to the results.



  40. Ann Arbor from Web Design
    January 23, 2009

    I disagree with you desktop background. People do care for the content they put up. Google more than anyone else.



  41. Cashmere from Contemporary Dining Chairs
    January 23, 2009

    Long time no new posts. Looking forward to some nice blogs from you.



  42. john Niedersachsen
    January 23, 2009

    Thank you for sharing this information with us!
    It´s always a good thing to remind us all the Basic SEO Tips.
    Cheers!



  43. Stu from Pasta Machines
    January 23, 2009

    Never, ever, knowingly serve a 404, EVER!!!!

    Either leave the page there with an explanation that you no longer stock the item, 301 it to a related product page, or 301 it to your home page.

    Never, ever, ever… ;-)



  44. Mark from Odzyskiwanie danych
    January 27, 2009

    Thanks for the tips, Santa :D Google is a great tool but one needs to know how to use it efficiently. This will really help :)



  45. Jeffrey from Property Tax Audit
    January 27, 2009

    I’ve never seen or heard this tips before.. Thank you so much for sharing. I know that I will gonna use it.



  46. Joe from Walnut Properties
    January 27, 2009

    Thanks for sharing a very useful tips. I will surely use it.



  47. Chris from DominateIM
    January 29, 2009

    Nice set of tips Simon. I never remember to label my images correctly so I’ll start trying to do that from now on.



  48. Michael from Charter Yachts
    January 31, 2009

    Nice set of tips. Many people are still unaware of this search tips. These will get search results a lot more effective for the users.



  49. Chelle from Addiction Help
    February 2, 2009

    Aw I missed this one from Google – either I’m not signed up for their emails or they didn’t send it to US publishers.

    I’m really curious about the sitelinks – I’ve noticed them on some sites but none of mine. They don’t show up when I search for my site – I’ll have to see if I can figure out a way to get them for my sites.



  50. Khaled from Car Number Plates
    February 3, 2009

    Thanks for all the great tips I wasn’t aware that Google provided so much support for helping new webmasters develop their sites.


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