Google Webmaster Tools improved robots.txt testing

 

The great folks over at Google have given us webmasters an improved Robots.txt validation tool.  The tool now understands the sitemap: directive and informs you of syntax errors. 

I also discovered it informs you that one exists.  Which is way cool.  I decided to check all my sites while I was there.  I discovered that one of the larger community sites I manage didn't have the sitemaps: directive in the robots.txt file. 

Of course I quickly corrected that problem.  The tool is there, use it.  It might just get you some more traffic.

There are still 2 days left!

 

Have you produced you Gmail video?  If not the Gmail video deadline extended!  You have two days to get er done!. 

This pretty funny stuff.  Check it out, get involved.  Enjoy

Gmail T-Shirt Design Contest

Well here is one I missed.  Apparently there is a Gmail T-Shirt design contest going on.  Luckily some talented designers where paying closer attention than me. 

No chance that I am entering a design, we would all just laugh at how bad it would be. Wait here is my design. 

Gmail

Sorry, that's all I got,  can't even make it red.

However, you and I can go vote for what we like.  If unlike myself, you have design talent, submit a design, don't forget to tell tlaughlin sent you.  Like they will have any idea what you are talking about.

Enjoy, it's fun to be involved.

Google will tell us if we are victims of Malware, Cool!

It seems Google will be notifying webmaster's if they are the victims of Malware, via the Webmsters Tools  As well we can requests a review.  At the time of writing my Webmasters Tools site didn't seem to include the new features. 

In my opinion this is great.  Google sends an awful lot of time looking at our sites.  If then can warn us when it appears we are victims of Malware than all the better.  Obviously not a solution to safe hosting, but at least it tells when something went wrong.  An once of prevention is still worth a pound of cure, but even Google can't change that. 

Hopefully they will show up shortly and I will report back on them then.  Thanks Google,

Google Robots.txt Blog collection

Google is very respectful of the robots.txt file.  As such they have produced many Blog entries about best practices, tutorials and extensions to the protocol.  So in my own hope of organizing the worlds information.  Or at least Google's information on robots.txt.  I have links.

If you unsure of what a robots.txt file does then check out The Web Robots Pages at robotstext.org.  They give some down to earth explanations of the standards.

As to Google.  Here a few places they mention robots.txt and how they use them.

Webmasters overview All about robots
Okay not really robots.txt, but Robots meta tags, yes Google respects them to.

I am sure there are more and I will try and post them here.

Thanks for reading.

Google selling more Storage!

 

Google has announce the ability to buy more storage for Picas and GMail.  I don't use all the give me for free, but I know people who do.  You can get Google's Scoop on storage.

This is great and should be helpful.  Now that we can buy storage.  I would like to make a humble request.  That we could be additional storage for individual user account in Google Apps standard edition.  I know you can get more storage for the entire domain by subscribing to the Premium addition.  By way of example, I work with a non-profit who uses Google Apps.  They have about 30 accounts, so to pay $50 a year per account is within their means.  However, the really only need that additional storage for the admin and the president.  So they would happily pay $75 year for each of them to get added storage.  Just another humble request. 

Thanks for reading.

Gmail Videos

 

The Gmail team has started a video of Gmail behind the scenes.  I hope this isn't what happens to my Gmail messages, but the videos are really funny.  If you need a little brain candy, check them out.