google webmaster Archives

Yesterday I checked Google Webmaster Tools in Vietnamese for this site, AdamYamada.com! No, this wasn't on purpose and in case you are wondering I can't speak or read Vietnamese. Since I thought it was kind of weird Google thought I could read Vietnamese I did went any normal person would do, I took a screenshot. Check out the screenshot of Google Wembaster Tools in Vietnamese.

It seems to have been a glitch on Google Webmaster Tools side which I was happy with. I just logged out of my account and logged back in and then everything returned to good old English. Some of you are probably laughing reading this and looking at the picture but I actually didn't think this was funny at first since I assumed someone had hacked my Google account.

Luckily that doesn't seem like it was the case and I am glad since Google Webmaster Tools has a lot of important data about all of my sites. In addition it can tell you when your sites have been hacked or if there is malware on them that you need to be aware of. So it's important to keep you Google account and Google Webmaster Tools account secure. I'd recommend 2-step verification if you own a cellphone with a text messaging plan.

Trying to understand Google Webmaster Tools in Vietnamese wasn't as hard as you might think though. Since I already know where most of the buttons are in the user interface in English it was sort of second nature. Looking at the picture can you navigate and figure out what the buttons do? If you are familiar using Google Webmaster Tools I bet you can. It is still a bit confusing but should be somewhat doable.

Let's hear from other webmasters that use Google Webmaster Tools. Have you every had a similar experience with Google Webmaster Tools showing up a different language? What was the language? How did it make you feel? Worried, concerned, upset? Share below and let others know!

In a Google Webmaster video that was released today Matt Cutts seems to suggest that using what is known as “Domain Hacks” is not necessarily a great idea. Here is the question that he responded to in the the Google Webmaster video.

We have a vanity domain (http://ran.ge) that unfortunately isn't one of the generic TLDs, which means we can't set our geographic target in Webmaster Tools. Is there any way to still target our proper location?

Aaron D Campbell, Phoenix, AZ

I am glad Aaron asked this as using a vanity domain, aka Domain Hacks, is something I was curios to know since I have thought about registering a few. For those don't know, Domains Hacks or a vanity domain is when a person, business, or site decides to utilize a country code top level domain (ccTLD) to complete a word or phrase. This is instead of using a more generic top level domain (gTLD) such as a COM, NET, or ORG. A good example of a Domain Hack would be Matt Mullenweg, the creator of WordPress, using Ma.TT for his personal blog. The .TT domain extension is technically for Trinidad & Tobago but Matt Mullenweg isn't using it for a business for Trinidad & Tobago just his personal blog.

Over the past couple years vanity domains and domain hacks have really grown in popularity and use. Most domainers, internet marketers, and web professionals know that finding a good .COM domain at a reasonable price is slim nowadays. Even finding a suitable .NET and. ORG domain these days that has not been taken can also be a challenge. I felt lucky when I was able to get the domain for Singing Dogs.

A lot of savy internet entrepreneurs have turned to using domain hacks and vanity domains like Aaron and his business partners with Ran.GE which I think is a smart domain. (In case you didn't watch the video that is the ccTLD for Georgia. No, not the the US state the country.)

While there are quite clever domain hacks and vanity domains in use, Matt Cutts warns that Google categorizes ccTLDs as being for the specific country that they were originally intended for. So if you are using .ES, the ccTLD for Spain, Google will assume you are targeting Spanish traffic since that is mainly what the domain is for. So unfortunately Aaron and his buddies can't tell Google specifically that, “Hey, this domain is not for the country of Georgia.”

There have been a few successful ccTLDs that have gone mainstream in the past few years. This includes .ME the original ccTLD for Montenegro, .CO which was originally for Columbia, and .TV which was the ccTLD for islands of Tuvalu. A lot of internet start-ups really like .ME and .CO which I don't really understand honestly. The domain extension .TV is somewhat popular due to the fact it can be used for video and show purposes. (Keep in mind though that since these were adopted for use globally they are treated differently by Google now.)

What I took away from the video was that it is better to stick with a gTLD (com, net, org) since there won't be any confusion with Google or more importantly site visitors. So you might want to think carefully before registering domain hacks or vanity domains.

Tag: google webmaster

Google Webmaster Tools in Vietnamese

Matt Cutts doesn’t recommend ccTLD Domain Hacks