Hi.
I'm Maile Ohye.
I'm a member of Google's Webmaster Support Team, here
to help you with the HTML meta tag method of verification in
Webmaster Tools.
Verifying ownership of your site in Webmaster Tools
provides you and Google a secure channel for giving and
receiving information.
For this video, we'll focus on HTML meta tag verification.
Including a specific HTML tag is only one of several ways
you can verify ownership of your site.
It's a great option if you're familiar with HTML code, like
, , and tags and you know where and
how to edit this content.
Or if you're using a Content Management System, or CMS,
like Google Sites, be sure to follow any specific
instructions from your provider.
If HTML tags look and sound like gibberish, then perhaps
give another one of the verification methods a try.
But for those of you who want to try HTML
tag, let's get started.
Make sure you've already added your site in Webmaster Tools.
Your site is where you tell your friends or customers to
go to see your home page.
After adding your site, select Manage Site, Verify This Site.
If HTML Tag is not visible on the recommended method tab,
click the Alternate Methods tab.
Select HTML Tag.
Now you'll see the HTML code for verification.
Go ahead and copy this entire line by highlighting and
selecting Copy.
Next, go into your HTML editor and open
your site's home page.
Your HTML editor might be in a nice graphical interface or
you might use a regular text editor.
If using a graphical interface, make sure you're in
the HTML view and can see the actual HTML code.
In the head section of your home page, paste the code just
copied from Webmaster Tools.
For example, I'll paste my code here.
The ordering of this verification tag and the title
tag or other meta tags doesn't matter, but it must be within
the head section.
If your page doesn't have a head section, you may want to
add one on the home page for verification or consider using
one of the other verification methods.
Once you've added the tag to your home page, save the file.
Now go to your browser and enter your site's URL.
Once the home page loads, view the source
code in your browser.
The verification code should appear.
If that test worked, go back to Webmaster
Tools and click Verify.
When you click Verify, Google will then scan your home page
to find the specific verification HTML tag.
Again, this meta tag must exist within the head section
of the page.
If Webmaster Tools can't find the tag, we'll give you
information about the error we encountered.
If the HTML tag is properly added, the success screen will
be displayed.
Be sure not to delete the HTML verification tag from the
page, as this will cause your site to become unverified.
After successful verification, Webmaster Tools may
immediately display data about your site or it may
take a day or so.
And now that you're a verified site owner, you can add more
users to your site without their needing to go through
the same process.
That's all.
Enjoy using Webmaster Tools.
For more webmaster resources, please see
google.com/webmasters.