Remember when you used to have to clear the cache on your web browser to make pages load faster? Well, that’s because caching is backups of the content on the page at a specific point in time.
Google cache search and the information it stores follow the same concept. These cached pages are stored on a server and picked up later for various reasons. The cached information at this point is also given a time and date stamp, and you can undertake a Google site cache search to find and view it.
Overall, it’s useful for a number of reasons, with one of the biggest being SEO. When implementing an SEO strategy, using Google cached search information can help you tackle underperforming pages.
How to Search for Cached Web Pages on Google
When you search Google cache pages successfully, the search engine will display a Google search cached version of the website. A Google cache search is simple; to search Google cache, you can do it from the search results page or directly on the website.
When using Google search results to do a cached Google search, you’ll see three vertical dots next to the website URL. Click on these dots, and a box will appear labelled ‘About this result’.
In addition, you should see a button that says ‘Cached’ in the bottom right corner of the Google search box. If the ‘Cached’ button doesn’t appear, it’s likely the page hasn’t been cached.
Also, when looking into how to search Google cached pages the easiest way, you’ll likely find that using a website’s URL is one of the most preferred. You can view a cached website directly via the URL; just type cache: before the URL – like this: cache:website.xyz. This will give you the cached version of the website, and is a super easy way to do a Google cached search.
The Different Ways to View Cached Websites When You Search Google Cache
A Google search for cached pages provides numerous ways to view the cached information. When you search Google cache, it will show:
- Full version – this is the full website from when Google took its ‘snapshot’
- Text-only version – when Google crawls your website, it uses a text-only format to speed up the process, meaning it only reads text
- Source code – this is the bare bones of the page content, including all coding
Why Use Google Search Cache?
You might think that a Google cache search isn’t all that useful; after all, rummaging through old versions of your website may sound futile. However, this feature has some benefits, such as:
Using Google search cache to check for duplicate content or errors
Sometimes duplicate content goes unnoticed. However, if you check out a cached link and end up on a page you weren’t expecting, you may have duplicate content.
This happens when Google looks at both pages and thinks they’re similar. It then decides to show the most relevant.
If the two pages are different, making changes is essential to get them both properly indexed. However, if they are duplicates or are very similar, you may want to consider using a canonical tag – a small piece of code telling Google that the original page is the one you want to index.
Checking out competitor sites
Ever wondered why your competition has started to outrank you in the search results? At first glance, what they’ve changed to reach the top spot might not be obvious. However, looking at a cache of their website will highlight any areas they’ve improved or changed to boost their search engine ranking position.
Scoping out the competition like this is one of the top reasons website owners want to learn how to search in Google cache; using valuable information like this could provide direction for your website. Plus, it’s worth doing this regularly to enhance your content and site user experience.
Analyse what Google is caching
When your website is looked on favourably by Google, it is indexed more often. However, if it’s not getting enough attention from Google, look at what the search engine caches most frequently. Checking out your competitors’ websites and the regularity of caching will highlight what you can change to improve your indexing.
Google looks at the content on your website, and typically, sites that update theirs regularly are indexed more. Search engines work to understand the consistency of your updates and crawl sites based on this, which means even the smallest of updates could make a big difference to rankings. Plus, uploading blogs or news features more often adds value to your website.
Check updates are showing
If you’ve recently made changes to your site, you’ll want to see the results of your hard work. Checking Google cache gives you a quick glance at what’s been crawled. However, if you can’t see the changes, always check Google Search Console to verify whether it’s been indexed.
Limitations of Google Cache
Google cache and crawling don’t always happen together
Many think that a cache is created every time Google crawls a website; however, that’s not always accurate. This is the case, particularly when a page has not changed dramatically, which is when the old cache is usually left in place.
Rendering issues
The cached version of your website might look slightly different from the actual page. Using different browser versions to undertake a Google search cache typically causes this. However, there are other issues, such as mobile-first indexing, which could cause error messages.
No cached page showing
Unfortunately, some websites just don’t get cached, but that doesn’t mean your website hasn’t been indexed. If you’re concerned, always check Google Search Console to examine whether your URLs have been indexed.
The wrong page is displayed
As mentioned, sometimes, a Google search cache displays the wrong page. This happens when a page is very similar, and Google decided to cache this version. You may also have issues with canonical tags that need rectifying in this instance.
How to Remove Cached Pages from Google Search
In some cases, you may find an old version of your site that is no longer relevant when you conduct a cached google search – and you might want it removed. There are a few ways to tackle this:
Ask Google directly to remove it
In Google Search Console, there’s an option to request cache removal. Visit the sidebar and click ‘Removals’, then ‘New Request’. This then gives you two options: either temporarily remove the URL or clear the cached URL altogether.
Add noindex and noarchive
If you want a permanent solution to cache removal, adding the tags noindex and noarchive will ensure the pages are not included in future caches.
How Long Do Pages Stay in Google Search Cache Results?
In most instances, Google search cached pages are available for 90 days. However, this could be more or less depending on when pages are crawled. Whatever the case, you can always do a cached Google search to check if a cached page still remains after you have requested its removal.
