Google Webmaster Tools Drops Features

Apr 25, 2012 - 8:47 am 15 by

Google Webmaster Tools CleaningLast night, Google announced on the Google Webmaster Center blog that they are removing three features from Google Webmaster Tools as part of their "spring cleaning efforts." They include:

Site Performance

This is a feature I like to use, where I can check the historical changes to how the site speed is over time. Google introduced this feature back in 2009 and it has been plagued with issues since it has launched. Google said it is being "removed due to low usage." There are of course other tools you can use, including site speed in Analytics and others.

Robots.txt Tool

A tool I don't think I ever used, and Google said it had "very low usage" and they are removing it. Google said most sites do not even need a robots.txt file, and if they do, you can use a text editor to make one.

Subscriber stats

Google is removing this report as well. It was introduced when they acquired Feedburner and wanted to bring in additional reports into Google Webmaster Tools. Truth is, it is rarely used as well and RSS readers is somewhat dying as well.

Forum discussion at Google Webmaster Help.

 

Popular Categories

The Pulse of the search community

Search Video Recaps

 
- YouTube
Video Details More Videos Subscribe to Videos

Most Recent Articles

Google Updates

Google Search Ranking Volatility Tools Cool Down

Jan 12, 2025 - 8:16 am
Search Forum Recap

Daily Search Forum Recap: January 10, 2025

Jan 10, 2025 - 10:00 am
Search Video Recaps

Search News Buzz Video Recap: Google Local Ranking Bug, Reddit Drops, Microsoft Fools Searchers & More SEO, PPC & Local

Jan 10, 2025 - 8:01 am
Google Search Engine Optimization

Google: URLs Don't Need To Be Lower Case For Search

Jan 10, 2025 - 7:51 am
Google Ads

Google Local Services Ads For Tax Specialist Drops Auto Credits & Features

Jan 10, 2025 - 7:41 am
Google Ads

Google Ads Updates Political Content Policy For CA Residents For Deepfakes

Jan 10, 2025 - 7:31 am
Previous Story: Upload Files To Google Drive? Good, Google Can Use Them Now