You probably use Google everyday to search for stuff on the internet. Maybe some of you didn’t know that you can let Google know about the recent changes you made on your blog.

Well … using Google Webmaster Tools you can do that.
After you login with your Google account you have the possibility to add every website (blog) you have.
Adding the website will require validation from your side either by uploading a html page or by entering a meta tag in your header.

Great … so you did that. It’s time to let Google know about every page of your website. I recommend 2 ways of creating sitemaps for your website or blog.

1. Using AuditMyPC’s Sitemap Generator

This free and easy to use site map builder is fast, efficient and allows you to build sitemaps that can instantly be submitted to Google. The only requirement is a popular browser that supports java, such as Internet Explorer, Firefox and others.
Create your sitemap using AuditMyPC’s Sitemap Generator

2. Using the Google Sitemap Generator Plugin for Wordpress

This plugin generates a XML-Sitemap compliant sitemap of your WordPress blog. This format is supported by Ask.com, Google, YAHOO and MSN Search.
I’ve mentioned this plugin in this post: Stuff to make your wordpress blog sticky. Make sure you read this as well.
More information on the plugin and download

Now that the sitemap is generated all you have to do is to go to your Google Webmaster Tools account and submit the URL to your sitemap. I keep my sitemap named sitemap.xml so I have to add http://www.sava.name/sitemap.xml.

Please take note that indexing takes time and you won’t see any statistics for at least a few days in your Google Webmasters account.

Important things to check

Top search queries – view all the keywords your blog is shown up in Google’s results. You will also be able to view the position your blog is shown for each keyword.

Index stats – View the number of pages Google has already indexed from your blog as well as all the pages that link back to your blog. You can also view your cached page, the information Google has about your blog and related websites.

Pages with external links – you will see all the pages Google found that have a link to your blog. This counts on determining your Google Page Rank.

Sitelinks – if you have different areas on your blog or website like a gallery, a forum and other things you have a high chance of showing Google Site Links next to your blog in the search results.
Check out Yahoo’s sitelinks on Google to see exactly.

Hope this helps you improve your experience with Google Webmaster Tools.