What is cache?

Cache is memory that is stored temporarily, so that computers don't have to constantly find the most up to date information. Your computer usually uses cache when browsing the web, so it doesn't have to keep downloading the same information over and over again. Our logo in the top left, for instance, will be downloaded somewhere to your pc and then used over and over again when veiwing our site, rather than downloading the same logo everytime you view a new page.

Search engines do the same thing. They search your site, and get a copy of it so they don't have to search it every few hours/days. 

Viewing the seach engine cache

Whether your search engine of choice is Google , MSN or Yahoo ; every time you perform a search the results list will feature the word ‘cache' (or similar) beneath each listing. By clicking on the ‘cached' link you are taken to a snap shot that the search engine has on file of the last time it visited your website. The cache page offers the content of your web site as it is seen by search engines.

Here is the cache of our home page.

Once on the cached page you can chose to view a text only version. This shows what content the search engine have indexed from your web site.

The majority of the time a search for your website will only show your home page in the results but it is also possible to see what other pages the search engine has spidered within your site. 

Which pages are cached?

By entering 'site:yourdomain.com' into the search bar you are presented with a list of pages within your site. This search may only show a selection of pages and then offer a link along the lines of 'repeat search with omitted results included'. By clicking the additional link you can then see exactly how many pages on your site have been indexed by the search engine.

You can see how many pages of our site Google has cached here.

How can this benefit me?

This can benefit you in a number of ways, for example, if a search engine is not picking up a section of your site it can suggest that there is a problem with your navigation structure, or it may see the content as being duplicates of each other. 

If you are waiting to get out of the sand box, this can be used to gauge when your site is being indexed. 

I like to use this method to make sure I put content out every time the cache is updated. By doing this we know that the search bots will recognise our site is constantly evolving thus increasing the amount of times a search engine will check and cache our site and therefore, increase our search engine ranking.

Links 

• Contact us regarding this article
• Castus Article - The google sandbox
• Castus Article - Content: your no.1 priority
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