Whenever you upload your Google sitemap to your Google sitemaps account they will download your map and validate it for you which can take a couple of hours depending on how busy they are at the time.

If you can’t wait for Google to do it and want to make sure everything is okay straight away then we have launched a Google Sitemap validator on my site XML-Sitemaps.com.

The validator will also optionally ping Google with the whereabouts of your site map if you haven’t done so already although we would recommend you inform Google of your sitemaps via the Google Webmaster Tools.

I just logged into my Google Sitemaps account to check on one of my sites and this is what it said:

Googlebot has successfully accessed your home page. Last crawl date: Dec 31, 1969

Somehow I don’t think that is right?

Nearly a year ago I redirected several sites that I no longer wanted carry on with. This led to hundreds of thousands of pages between them entering into the supplemental index. Now I could of got rid of them by using Google’s removal tool but in past experiences once the removal request expires they pop straight back into the index even if you have specifically banned Google from your site using a robots.txt file.

So I thought I would just leave them there to see how long it took for them to disappear. Today I noticed that they have all gone. Every single one of them. I also noticed that on some sites which are still up now where I had old pages which didn’t exist anymore that they have gone too.

So, has Google just updated their supplemental index? It’s been a long time coming if they have.

Studies show that web users will only read the top 15 search results for any given query. That means millions of websites gather dust, never to be seen—and what’s the point of creating that content if you’re not read?

Thus evolved the science of search engine optimization, which includes key word counts, editing metatags, link management. Webmasters can spend weeks, even months, fine-tuning these elements—but like any product, it needs a test drive. That’s what search engine spider simulators are for.

Search engine spider simulators, also known as search engine robot simulators, allow you to see the page as other web crawlers do. “Robots” is an industry term that describes how Google, et. al scour the Internet for new pages. They’re like electronic detectives, with each given a particular task. Some bots are designed to follow every link, downloading as many pages as possible for a particular index or query. Others are programmed to look out for new content.

Both these bots play a huge role in whether or not your website ends up in the top 15…or languishes at the bottom.

For example, does the bot pick up on your links? Javascript errors can also cause the bot to miss out on important links, and we all know how important inbound links are in search engine ranking.

Does it index every page of your site? It’s highly possible that a programming glitch causes the bot to skip a large portion of your content. There goes all your efforts to increase keywords or optimize titles and crossheads!

It’s also possible that the bots are basing your ranking on old versions of your website, unable to recognize the changes you have made. You might as well have not done anything at all.

You may have also made the mistake of accidentally blocking a bot from checking a section of your site. While it is important to restrict website users’ access to sensitive information—for example, those reserved for a company’s internal networks; the personal information of members who have signed up for a newsletter; or premium pages that you’d rather reserve for paying subscribers—the bot should be given free rein, if only to improve your chances of getting a higher ranking. If not, that’s just like throwing the bot with the bathwater.

It would be impossible to pick up these errors without actually recreating how the bots review your site. You can do this by using a robot simulator. Using the same processes and strategies of different search engines, these simulators will “read” your site and inform you of which pages are skipped, which links are ignored, and which errors it encounters. You can also review the robot.txt files, which will enable you to spot any problems and correct them before you submit them to real search engines.

You’ll be surprised at how many things you’ll find out about web robots, and how the bells and whistles many webmasters include on the site do nothing to improve search engine ranking. For example, search engine robots generally do not see flash based content, content that is made through javascript like javascript menus, as well as content displayed as an image. You’ll also be able to monitor how the bots will follow your hyperlinks, very crucial if you’re running a big website with sprawling content.

We’ve recently launched a search engine robot simulator in the SEO Tools section on XML-Sitemaps.com so if you want to see how robots see your site give it a try.  Our robot checks all links on your pages and will tell you if any links are restricted by your robots.txt file and also the use of the nofollow tag.

Hiring a Limousine in Aylesbury

If you want to hire a limousine in and around Aylesbury then my friend Rob has a Limousine Hire company named Aylesbury Limousines.

Limos are a great way to arrive somewhere in style and unlike the US where they tend to be used like Taxis, we tend to use them only on special occasions but that needn’t be the case.

Whilst perceived as being an expensive thing to do it is surprising how good value they can be. I’ve used Rob’s Limo service before on airport runs and depending on how long you are going for it can be cheaper to hire a limousine to the airport than paying the extortionate car parking charges there.

I find it a lot less stressful too. You are dropped off door to door, no need to wait and catch a bus to the car park struggling with all your luggage and it can be a real time saver too. The last time I parked a car at an airport it was nearly 2 and half hours before I even got to my car let alone leave the airport and at 3 in the morning that’s not much fun I can tell you.

Going to the airport is a lot more relaxing and that’s what holidays are for. Why stress yourself out driving yourself when you’re half asleep early in the morning and struggling with all your luggage again and waiting for the car park bus to turn up which always seems like it takes forever.

Hiring a limousine beats getting a local taxi which treats every road as their own personal race track and sends your blood pressure sky high on the white knuckle ride. Limo drivers tend to be a lot more careful and considerate in their driving and keep to the speed limits at all times.

Rob from Aylesbury Limousines (pictured below with the cars) also won the coveted prize of Limousines and Chauffer Show “Chauffer of Year 2005″

So if you want to travel in a relaxing way and arrive in style, give Rob a call.