Google Cache Checker
Google is a complex beast, to say the least. SEOs devote their entire lives to understanding the secrets of the Google 'black box'. For newcomers to the world of SEO (and for a few experienced veterans too) the difference between Google's cache and Google's index is apparently difficult to understand. But in reality, it's very simple. We are going to give you a brief (but comprehensive) overview of what Google's cache is, what it's for, and how it's different from their index. Let's get started.
What Is Google's Cache?
Basically what you see in Google's cache is the way Google sees your website. Google's cache is a snapshot of an individual URL at a given moment in time. The cached information that is stored by Google is then broken down using their black magic into various different databases (which allows them to assess quality and relevancy).
What's The Difference Between Cached And Indexed?
When a website is cached, it means that anyone can view the snapshot Google took of your website when they last cached it. When a site is indexed it means that it has been included in Google's search engine and is available in the SERPs. You can use our tool to check a list of urls and see whether they are included in Google's index, or whether they are cached. More information is available below.
Check whether your urls are cached or indexed in Google for up to 30 urls now
Metric Results
Url:The url in question
Indexed?:Whether the url is indexed in Google's database
Cache Date:The most recent date that the url has been cached by Google
Fresh?:Our own metric, shows whether the url has been cached in the past month
Download Data
You can choose to download the data in the table above as either a CSV file or an XLSX file by clicking on the icons below.
Why Do I Need A URL To Be Cached?
Quite honestly, you don't need a URL to be cached if you don't want it to be. However, there is evidence to show that a URL that has been cached by Google has more stability in their search index. Whereas indexed URLs can fade in and out of Google's index (and thus their search results), URLs that display a cached version tend to stick around.
You can tell Google to not cache your pages but still have them indexed and available in the SERPs. However, that being said. Why take the risk? Unless you have a very good reason for not wanting your page cached, you should let Google cache it. A website does not have to be cached to be indexed. The only relationship the two constructs have is that the cached data is what Google sees when they determine if you are eligible for their index. If you turn caching off they are still going to crawl your site, and they are still going to get the exact same data - it's just not going to be public.
Is When A Page Was Cached The Last Time Google Crawled My Site?
There is no definitive answer to this, but the most commonly accepted answer is no. Google only seems to update their cache when something has changed on your page, or if the time elapsed since the original cache has been over a certain amount of time. Many pages are crawled hundreds of times a day, updating the cache every single time would be a massive waste of resources.
How Can I Check If My URL Is Cached?
Checking if your page is cached is easy. If you are working in chrome you can simply type cache:http://example.com and hit enter. If your website is cached it will be displayed, if not you will get an error message. If you don't use chrome then the easiest way to access the cache is directly from the SERPs. Look at the green URL underneath the page title in the search results. You will notice a little green arrow on the right-hand side (if the page is cached). All you have to do is click the arrow, and click 'cached'.
Why Is My URL Not Cached?
There are a few reasons why a URL may not be cached, they are often easy to fix.
• If your page is new it can sometimes take a little while for it to be cached after it has been indexed. Wait a month or so and check back • Robots.txt files can contain commands that tell search engines not to cache your website. Check that you are not blocking Google's caching attempts there • The 'no archive' meta tag is a specific instruction to search engines telling them to not index your site. Check your source code to see if you have it on your page somewhere
So there you have it, all you need to know about caching. Google is a fickle beast that changes its mind about what it likes and dislikes at a moments notice. If your website is not cached, it's probably a good idea to try and get it cached when you get chance. It won't take long, and it might just save your rankings in the future if Google has another bad mood one day.