I posted this back on Oct. 6, but didn’t get any takers. I figure my post got lost in the flow, so I’m putting it up again in hope someone might have an answer to this. Here goes:
My company is transferring its domain to Fat Cow. I have the upload information and don’t anticipate problems. However, in looking through Google Webmaster stuff there’s this whole list of alerting Google to an authorization code, using its change of address form, etc. Is that really necessary? Do I have to do anything with Google when I make the switch, or change the analytics code on every page? The domain name isn’t changing, just the hosting service.
Google should not be aware of any changes if all you’re doing is moving servers. If they (Google) asked you to upload any files into the root of your Web site (something cryptically-named.html, usually) then you should make sure that you move that file over along with everything you normally upload through Freeway. You’ll use Fetch or Transmit or CyberDuck to do that. These files are usually uploaded as part of Google Analytics to confirm that you really are the owner of that site.
Walter
On Oct 17, 2011, at 3:41 PM, LauraB wrote:
I posted this back on Oct. 6, but didn’t get any takers. I figure my post got lost in the flow, so I’m putting it up again in hope someone might have an answer to this. Here goes:
My company is transferring its domain to Fat Cow. I have the upload information and don’t anticipate problems. However, in looking through Google Webmaster stuff there’s this whole list of alerting Google to an authorization code, using its change of address form, etc. Is that really necessary? Do I have to do anything with Google when I make the switch, or change the analytics code on every page? The domain name isn’t changing, just the hosting service.
I’m a little confused. Are you saying that I might have to get new Analytics code from Google when the transfer is finished? Is that typical?
Also, won’t everything on the older server simply vanish once this transfer is over, including my XML file? I’m rather hoping the latter is the case so that I can use Freeway’s built-in XML tool for Google, Yahoo and whatever else it supports.
No, I’m saying that if they asked you to upload a file in order to prove that you had control over the site, then you should move that file from your current server to the new server as a part of moving the rest of your site. Just don’t forget it if it exists, is all I’m saying. You might not have had to do that, there are other ways to prove your identity to Google.
Walter
On Oct 17, 2011, at 4:00 PM, LauraB wrote:
I’m a little confused. Are you saying that I might have to get new Analytics code from Google when the transfer is finished? Is that typical?
Also, won’t everything on the older server simply vanish once this transfer is over, including my XML file? I’m rather hoping the latter is the case so that I can use Freeway’s built-in XML tool for Google, Yahoo and whatever else it supports.
Oh, okay. Thank you, Walter. You’re such a wonderful resource. One day, maybe I can figure out how to return the favor. But it would be more like sending banana bread or something totally unrelated to web stuff.
If you are just transferring to another ISP and not changing the domain (i.e. www.example.com to www.newco,com), then you need not worry about the instructions in the google link as it references new domains.
The best way would be to include the meta tag “description”. Your meta description should be between 70 and 160 characters long and contain some your most important keywords. menu : Page>Meta
When this tag is present it is this that search engines will display in their results. Otherwise they will try and build a description from the content. Also try to give each page a unique meta description.
In this case it would appear they are using the div tags that are automatically generated on creation. You can always change these in the inspector panel by clicking on the box/item and giving it a unique name that is more meaningful.
Thanks, Bryan and Mark. Our IT guy set this up and the website still hasn’t transferred. Meanwhile, I do have description meta tags on all pages, etc.
Bryan? Don’t be surprised when all is said and done if I don’t get back to you with questions. I’ve used Fat Cow before with clients. This is the first time I saw anything about what Google wants. I’m beginning to think it’s all more of an advisory than a mandate.
I did study the Fat Cow knowledge base and saw the article you referenced, Bryan. I’m hoping our IT guy didn’t inadvertently drop the ball on this.