http://groups.google.com/group/Google_Webmaster_Help-Indexing/browse_...
and
http://groups.google.com/group/Google_Webmaster_Help-Indexing/msg/a19...

A 301 redirect is is recommended by Google in many places.  It passes
the value the old or wrong page to the new page.  It does not
disappear, it combines them.

The index numbers that we show in webmaster tools apply only to the URLs listed in your sitemap file(s). If we discover new URLs for your site that are not listed in the sitemap file, we will often include those in our index as well. It looks like that happened here: according to your stats we have included 18677 URLs from your sitemap file as well as around 6500 URLs that are not listed in your sitemap file. Another thing to remember is that the count shown on top of the search results (for example: "Results 301 - 400 of about 25,200") is generally an approximation.

John

Per the FAQs:

I have [thousands/several/at least two] links to my site, but when I search on Google it says I have [zero/not that many] links. What gives?

http://groups.google.com/group/Google_Webmaster_Help/web/faqs-for-crawling-indexing-and-ranking-2#number-of-links 

• If you do a Google search using the link: operator (e.g. [link:www.example.com]), you will see a sampling of pages that link to your site. For a more complete list of pages that link to you, verify your site in Webmaster Tools and then click the Links tab to see the sites that link to you.

Per the FAQs:

Does validating my site (with a tool such as the W3C validator) help my site's ranking in Google's search results pages?

http://groups.google.com/group/Google_Webmaster_Help/web/faqs-for-crawling-indexing-and-ranking-2#valid-code

• No, at least not directly.  However, to the extent that cleaning up your HTML makes your site more accessible to people with disabilities or folks accessing your pages on portable or other devices, it can improve the popularity of your site... increasing natural links to your site (which can help with your Google ranking), traffic, and so on.

Per the FAQs:

I have a lot of new links pointing to my site, but my site's Toolbar PageRank has not changed in months.

http://groups.google.com/group/Google_Webmaster_Help/web/faqs-for-crawling-indexing-and-ranking-2#pagerank

• Don't worry :).  We actually recalculate PageRank quite frequently, but only push Toolbar PageRank updates occasionally.  This is our respectful hint for you to worry less about PageRank, which is but one of over 200 signals that can affect how your site is crawled, indexed and ranked.

Per the charter:

Search before you ask.

You'll find a bevy of smart and helpful regulars here, but -- as you can imagine -- their patience can wear thin when answering the exact same question 42 times a week.  So for their sanity and yours, please see if your question has already been addressed.

• Do a search of this group using the search box at the top of the page.
• Browse and/or search our Help Center.

Per the FAQs:

I don't want Google to crawl my site. What should I do?

http://groups.google.com/group/Google_Webmaster_Help/web/faqs-for-crawling-indexing-and-ranking-2#stop-crawling

• You can set up a robots.txt file to control access and block Googlebot.
• Note that if other people link to pages on your site, these URLs may still show up in our index, and your site may still appear in search result

Per the FAQs:

What do I do if Googlebot is using too much of my bandwidth?

http://groups.google.com/group/Google_Webmaster_Help/web/faqs-for-crawling-indexing-and-ranking-2#crawl-rate

• If you'd like Google to crawl your site less often, use the crawl rate tool in your Google Webmaster Tools account.

Per the FAQs:

Uh oh, Google indexed and is showing some pages that I wanted to keep private!

http://groups.google.com/group/Google_Webmaster_Help/web/faqs-for-crawling-indexing-and-ranking-2#remove-urls

• Use the URL Removal Request Tool to remove pages from Google's index.

Per the FAQs:

I recently purchased a domain that was previously associated with a spammy web site. What can I do?

http://groups.google.com/group/Google_Webmaster_Help/web/faqs-for-crawling-indexing-and-ranking-2#new-domain

• Verify your site in Webmaster Tools, then request reconsideration of your site.  

Per the FAQs:

I found spam in Google's search results. Where can I report it?

http://groups.google.com/group/Google_Webmaster_Help/web/faqs-for-crawling-indexing-and-ranking-2#report-spam

• Please submit spam reports to http://www.google.com/contact/spamreport.html.
• Or better yet -- if you have a Webmaster Tools account -- you can report spam directly to Google. On the Dashboard, click Report spam in our index.  Note that you don't need to have an XML Sitemap in order to create an account, and you can typically create a Webmaster Tools account in under two minutes.  Spam reports sent via Webmaster Tools carry more weight than reports via our unauthenticated (open) spam report page.

Per the FAQs:

Why am I receiving "Not found" crawl errors for URLs that don't exist on my site? 

http://groups.google.com/group/Google_Webmaster_Help/web/faqs-for-webmaster-tools-2#strange-urls

• These errors occur when Googlebot tries to access a URL and receives a 404 (Not found) response. This can happen when Googlebot follows an invalid link, which may be mistyped or outdated. If you don't recognize these URLs and don't think they should be accessible, you can safely ignore these errors. If, however, you see URLs listed in the 'Not found' section that you recognize and would like crawled, we hope you find the 'Details' column helpful in identifying and fixing the errors.

Per the FAQs:

I'm getting an error when trying to verify my site with an HTML file, even though my file is visible in my browser.

http://groups.google.com/group/Google_Webmaster_Help/web/faqs-for-webmaster-tools-2#verification-file

• Check that your server returns a 404 HTTP status code for files that don't exist. The Live HTTP Headers Firefox extension can be helpful in figuring out what status code a page is returning. Learn more about these verification issues in our Help Center.

Per the FAQs:

Why do my stats show keywords that don't exist on my site? My site has nothing to do with Viagra or porn.

http://groups.google.com/group/Google_Webmaster_Help/web/faqs-for-webmaster-tools-2#strange-words

• This can happen if you recently acquired your domain. You can use a tool like the Wayback Machine to check whether these keywords are coming from content that was previously on that domain. If this is the case, your current keywords should appear in Webmaster Tools once we've recrawled your site.
  
• This can also happen if your site is hacked and spam uploaded. Sometimes the spam consists of files and sometimes it is dynamically generated - for example, using the .htaccess file. Review your site for suspicious files, and check the .htaccess file for suspicious code.  You may consider contacting your web host's technical support team for assistance if you believe your site has been hacked.
• Other forms of spam, such as comment spam from visitors, can appear in results. Double-check the output of scripts that generate content automatically. 

Per the FAQs:

Why am I still seeing "Data is not available at this time" in Webmaster Tools? I've been verified for months.

http://groups.google.com/group/Google_Webmaster_Help/web/faqs-for-webmaster-tools-2#no-data

• Webmaster Tools provides data based on site visits and links to your pages. You need to get the word out about your web site to get more people visiting and naturally linking to it. That is, of course, after you've built a web site that people will want to visit and link to.  The more links to your site on the web, the greater the chances of Google's crawler stopping by for a visit. Once Google starts crawling your site more often you'll notice that Webmaster Tools will begin to show more detailed data.

Per the FAQs:

How do I switch my verification method after I've already verified my site?

http://groups.google.com/group/Google_Webmaster_Help/web/faqs-for-webmaster-tools-2#change-verification

• Remove the meta tag or HTML verification file from your home page. As soon as your site is no longer marked as Verified in Webmaster Tools, you'll be able to choose the verification method you prefer and reverify by following the instructions provided.

Per the FAQs:

How can I give other people access to my Webmaster Tools account?

http://groups.google.com/group/Google_Webmaster_Help/web/faqs-for-webmaster-tools-2#multiple-owners

• Each person that needs to access data for your site in Webmaster Tools should be verified separately. There should be one verification meta tag or HTML file per account.

Per the FAQs:

I'm using a hosting service for my site that prevents me from using meta tags or HTML verification files. How can I verify my site?

http://groups.google.com/group/Google_Webmaster_Help/web/faqs-for-webmaster-tools-2#cant-verify

• Currently the only two options for verifying your site are to use the meta tag or HTML file verification methods. You may want to consider moving to a different hosting service.

Per the FAQs:

Why should I create a Sitemap?

http://groups.google.com/group/Google_Webmaster_Help/web/faqs-for-other-issues#why-sitemap

• Sitemaps are a way for webmasters to give Google additional information about pages on their site - for example, how often each page is updated, when each page was last modified, and the relative importance of pages on the site. This information won't increase your ranking in Google's search results, but it can help speed up the discovery of new and updated pages on your site. In addition, Sitemaps are a great way to tell Google about pages on your site that may not be easily crawled by Googlebot - perhaps because they consist of dynamic or non-text-based content (such as AJAX or Flash).

Per the FAQs:

Some folks have claimed that their sites were penalized after they submitted Sitemaps. Is this a coincidence?

http://groups.google.com/group/Google_Webmaster_Help/web/faqs-for-other-issues#sitemap-penalty-myth

• Yes. Google will not penalize you for submitting a Sitemap. Sitemaps provide an extra way for us to understand what pages you have on your site, and can help speed up the discovery of new and updated pages on your site. But neither HTML nor XML Sitemaps replace the normal crawling process. Having a Sitemap will not increase your ranking in Google's search results pages - but it will not reduce it, either.

Per the FAQs:

HEY! Someone's being particularly mean / rude / consistently posting off-topic stuff / spamming.

http://groups.google.com/group/Google_Webmaster_Help/web/faqs-for-other-issues#rude-posters

• We do reserve the right to ban both spammers and folks who are contributing only stress and ill-will via personal attacks and the like.  However, there's much you can and should do yourself:
  • Ignore the trolls and jerks.  Replying to them only feeds their ego and flames the bad karma.
  • Rate their posts one star.
  • Report the post (click More options, then click Report this message).