Google Site Kit For Wordpress
In late 2018, Google created a concept called the Site Kit for Wordpress plugin. Combining multiple Google tools, which incorporates the tools that individuals and businesses require, empowering them to make critical SEO optimisation decisions.
The free plugin consists of 4 Google functions. The first is the Search Console which analyses and showcases how users discover the website content through Google’s own SERP (Search Engine Results Pages) data. Second is the Analytics component, which analyses how website users navigate and use the site. The third is AdSense, which tracks the monetary earnings from the site, and lastly, PageSpeed which gives insight into the identification of any critical SEO speed performance indicators which can aid the webmaster to improve page load times. Google Site Kit guides the user to make informed strategic decisions, which will maximise their audience engagement and revenue growth; Critically it does it all under one roof.
Having these functions located in the one place simply drives efficient decisions making for webmasters and provides them with a strategic edge against their competitors.
Each of these four components have been analysed in further detail:
Search Console
The first function of the plugin is the search console. This function is one of the largest, and consists of four different areas, Search Appearance, Search Traffic, Google index and Crawl.
Search console as a whole, tracks and analyses how many impressions and clicks the website has received and provides an analysis specifically on key word performance. Search console also analyses and provides users with a site map; providing users with an analysis that details whether there are any faulty links, which may hinder the website users experience.
The search console can also be optimised for search intent within the Site Kit, this has been analysed in a previous blog article which can be found on SEO Company Melbourne.
To go into further detail, search appearance is a key part of the search console. Search appearance analyses and improves the structured data on the webpage, which is an essential element which provides web page users with a more enjoyable SERP experience online, thus encouraging further online traffic in the future.
An area that is increasingly more important for Search Appearance is the Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) function. This improves page speed, mobile ranking and server performance.
The AMP performance report, allows users to monitor their mobile pages and the analytics surrounding it, which is essential especially when changes are being made to web pages.
PageSpeed
The second function is the PageSpeed tool. This tool provides users with feedback regarding any specific technical issue, for example, images requiring too much time to load on the webpage, or any technical JavaScript issues within the webpage. These technical glitches can be hard to visually come across without the use of a plugin. Google Site Kit allows users to enhance the sophistication of their website, and provide their audience with a more refined experience.
PageSpeed analytics provides a number of reports, a few examples of these reports are:
1) Detailed Page Reporting, which can arrange reports by the specific page speed, which will detail the areas of opportunity and how they can be improved.
2) Report summaries which are similar to detailed page reporting, except provides a summary for all the reports, including both the high and low performing pages.
3) Report snapshots of web page data which can be retrieved in future, to perhaps review past work and utilise as a benchmark.
4) Scheduled report checks where the plugin will automatically check the website on a daily/weekly/monthly etc. basis to ensure all webpages are up to date and reflect any changes made to the site, to ensure cohesiveness.
5) Additional webpage language translation functions such as Russian, Spanish and Serbian.
Another key feature of the PageSpeed function is the ability to be able to compare web page speed to other live web pages; this function can be especially valuable for businesses that are focusing on ensuring a competitive edge for their webpages.
Analytics
The Analytics function provides users with the in-depth analysis regarding website user experience, which acts primarily as performance indicators against the previously set goals. Webmasters are then given a clear set of statistical information over time to judge effectiveness of the website. These statistics can be given as impressions, clicks, unique visitors from search, and completion number of previously set goals.
The function within analytics where users can set goals in regards to views, impressions and CTR (click through rate)%, drives ambitions within the webmaster and business owners, and encourages users to continue to utilise the plugin. Google Site Kit features a tool where users can set goals and an alert will appear once the goal/milestone has been completed.
Google analytics also allows users to implement a tracking code on specific webpages, which alerts Google when the site is being visited. This allows the users to be able to utilise this data and learn more about the audience of people who are actually visiting the website, to further their SEO strategy.
AdSense
AdSense is the fourth and final function which tracks and provides a detailed report of the websites monetary earnings.
By setting up an AdSense account, users have a clear and concise report which details their monetary earnings, which thus allows the user to execute an accurate strategy based on these results.
Key benefits surrounding AdSense is the level of control users have when it comes to implementing any of the ads. Selecting the space on the webpage, the look and feel of the ad, and ensuring that the ads are mobile friendly, are all apart of the AdSense package; not to mention that only the highest paying ads go live.
Google has stated however:
‘Individual Google products included in Site Kit are subject to standard terms and fees (if any) for those products’.
The information derived from the Google Site Kit plugin, is delivered to users in a clear and concise report, which simplifies the analytical phase, meaning users can make accurate and well-informed strategic decisions
A note from the WordPress admin panel states:
“With Site Kit installed, WordPress users can access unified insights and Google product capabilities directly from the WordPress admin panel. Where it is helpful, Site Kit will also provide deep links into Google products for advanced reports and product configuration capabilities.”.
The convenience of having these 4 analytical tools in the one plugin allows users to actually utilise all the resources at once, meaning they to ensure a well-rounded and coherent SEO strategy.
For more content like this, check out SEO Company Melbourne for help or advice for anything and everything SEO today!
