Guides

Platforms

Platforms · 9 min read

WordPress SEO Checklist: Settings to Check Before and After Launch

Work through the WordPress settings that decide whether a new site can be crawled and indexed: visibility, permalinks, HTTPS, sitemaps and comments.

Search Engines · 8 min read

Bing Webmaster Tools Reports: Search Performance, Site Scan and More

Learn what each Bing Webmaster Tools report shows, from Search Performance and URL Inspection to Site Scan and AI Performance, and how to act on the findings.

Search Engines · 7 min read

Domain Property vs URL Prefix in Search Console: Which to Choose

Compare Search Console domain and URL-prefix properties, see which URLs each covers, and set up the right mix with the correct verification method.

Search Engines · 8 min read

GA4 Search Console Integration: Link Data Without Double Counting

Connect a Google Analytics 4 web data stream to Search Console, publish the two search reports and read clicks and sessions side by side without adding them.

Search Engines · 8 min read

Google Manual Action in Search Console: Meaning and How to Respond

Check the Manual actions report, understand what Google's reviewers flagged, fix every affected page and write a reconsideration request that gets reviewed.

Search Engines · 8 min read

Page Indexing Report Explained: Every Status and What to Do

Read the Search Console page indexing report: what each Not indexed reason means, which ones need a fix, and how to validate your changes.

Search Engines · 9 min read

Read the Search Console Performance Report: Clicks, CTR and Position

Learn what clicks, impressions, CTR and average position really count in the Search Console performance report, and how to filter, export and compare the data.

Search Engines · 3 min read

Request Google Indexing the Right Way

Use URL Inspection and Request Indexing for a new or fixed page, after checking eligibility, and follow up with evidence rather than repeat requests.

Search Engines · 8 min read

Search Console Verification Failed: Fix Every Common Cause

Fix Search Console ownership verification errors for the HTML file, meta tag, DNS record, Google Analytics and Tag Manager methods, and add a backup method.

Search Engines · 3 min read

Set Up Bing Webmaster Tools and Verify Your Website

Add your site to Bing Webmaster Tools, verify ownership, submit a sitemap and set a weekly check, even if Google Search Console already works.

Search Engines · 3 min read

Set Up Google Search Console: Complete Website Owner Checklist

Add and verify your site in Google Search Console, inspect the home page, submit a sitemap and set up a simple routine for checking indexing reports.

Search Engines · 2 min read

Set Up IndexNow for Bing and Participating Search Engines

Set up IndexNow with a key file so Bing and other participating engines learn of changed URLs, and log responses without assuming indexing.

Search Engines · 8 min read

URL Inspection Live Test: What It Shows and What It Misses

Use the Search Console URL Inspection live test and rendered HTML to check a page as Google fetches it, and learn which indexing problems it cannot detect.

Security · 7 min read

Add HTTP Security Headers: CSP, nosniff, Referrer-Policy and More

Add the common browser security headers safely: Content-Security-Policy in report-only first, nosniff, framing, Referrer-Policy and Permissions-Policy.

Security · 7 min read

Cloudflare SEO Settings That Help or Hurt Crawling

Review the Cloudflare settings that affect crawling: SSL mode, bot protection, Under Attack mode, Rocket Loader and managed robots.txt.

Security · 7 min read

Fix Mixed Content: Remove http:// Resources From HTTPS Pages

Find images, scripts and styles loaded over http:// on HTTPS pages, fix them at the source and confirm the browser warnings are gone.

Security · 10 min read

Hacked Site SEO Spam: Find and Clean Injected Spam Pages

Spot injected spam pages and links on a hacked site, contain the breach, clean and harden it, then ask Google to review the fix in Search Console.

Security · 11 min read

HSTS Setup Guide: Roll Out Strict-Transport-Security Safely

Add the Strict-Transport-Security header in stages, from a five-minute max-age to one year, and decide whether the HSTS preload list is right for you.

Security · 9 min read

HTTP to HTTPS Migration: Move Your Site to HTTPS in the Right Order

Install a certificate, fix mixed content, add canonicals and 301 redirects, update Search Console and sitemaps, then add HSTS once everything works.

Security · 8 min read

Search Console Security Issues: Fix a Hacked Site or Malware Warning

Read the Search Console security issues report, safely confirm hacked content or malware, clean the site, close the cause and request a security review.

Security · 11 min read

SSL Certificate Errors: Diagnose Expired, Mismatched and Incomplete

Find out why a browser or crawler rejects your HTTPS certificate, test expiry, hostname and chain with OpenSSL, and fix it without breaking redirects.

Security · 9 min read

Write a Content Security Policy Without Breaking Your Site

Build a content security policy in report-only mode, fix what it flags, then enforce it with nonces or hashes so scripts and styles keep working.

Sitemaps · 3 min read

Find and Fix 404 and 500 Errors in XML Sitemaps

Find the URLs in your sitemap that return 404 or 500, trace the shared cause, then restore, redirect or remove them and fix how the sitemap is generated.

Sitemaps · 3 min read

Fix a Sitemap That Google Cannot Fetch or Read

Diagnose a Search Console sitemap error by fetching the file yourself, checking status, XML and access rules, and resubmitting only after a real fix.