A cached page is a “snapshot” of a webpage taken by Google when it visits the webpage. When Google creates a cached page, it saves the way the page displays at a certain date and time. Until another snapshot is taken, Google will not record any changes or additions to the webpage.
Users can request to access cached pages, which are kept on servers. A single webpage can have many cached versions. For example, On September 15th, at 5:55 p.m., Google visits your website. Once the page has fully loaded, it takes a snapshot of the content and saves it as a cached page. The page is saved in Google’s index until Google visits it again and takes a new snapshot.
What Is the Purpose of Google Caching Pages?
Google uses cached pages to provide visitors with a web page that responds consistently regardless of how many visitors it receives or who views it. While the majority of users will view a live webpage, others may see a cached version.
When you visit a website, many procedures take place in order for the page to load. When you interact with a page, it may fail to load, respond, or update. To avoid this, Google displays a cached version of the webpage on occasion. Cache pages are easier to access and deliver to the user since they are “pre-loaded.”
How to View a Cached Page
The majority of visitors will see the most recent, live version of your page. Some people may not notice updates you make to your page since cached pages are “snapshots” of the page. Even so, it’s a good idea to look at Google’s cached pages for your website.
Try these three steps to see how your sites appear and when they were last cached:
- Perform a Google search for the webpage.
- To access “About this result” screen, choose the three vertical dots next to the URL.
- At the bottom of the screen, select Cached. The cached version of the page will be loaded by Google. The timestamp of the cached page will also be visible at the top of the page.
What Are the Benefits of Cached Pages?
Caching pages are not only useful for Google; they may also provide information to online marketers and SEO services administrators about the health of sites.
Cached pages can tell us:
- How Are Your Pages Indexed?
Your cached page may show how your page appeared when it was indexed by Google. If your page is tagged “noindex” or “disallowed” in the robots.txt file, it is not cached. If your page hasn’t been cached, you need make sure it can be indexed. Your page will not be cached or ranked if this is the case.
- Page loading time
Your page speed is definitely too sluggish if your cached page appears in search results. When pages are slow to respond or entirely unusable, Google will display the cached version. Optimizing the load speed of your website promotes healthy Core Web Vitals indicators, which can help you enhance your overall ranking.
- When Google Last Crawled Your Page
You may watch timestamps on your cached page if you want to see when and how often Google views your website. When Google successfully accesses a page, it creates a cached page, and the date on your cached page reveals when Google last viewed it.
If you don’t have access to server logs or Google Search Console but want to know if Google has seen changes on your site or which URLs Google is indexing, cached pages can assist.
As Google visits your website, it changes your cached pages on a regular basis. It may take some time for your changes to display on the cached pages after you modify or make changes to your webpage.
As a result, it’s critical to resolve any site issues as quickly as possible so that your cache pages remain current. A site audit can help you identify and address issues with cached pages, such as poor page load times.