Why you should USE the NoArchive Meta tag
Before I started writing this post I found this post on webmasterworld in the webmasterworld thread you can see XOC point out he is ranking for Boxter in google.com .. the reason I have pointed this out is to stop people saying Google will ban you or move you off the first page etc etc..
The first Question I asked myself was why would I need a Google cached link in the serps :
Common arguments are what if your site is down people can’t see your site, well I run a blog I want people to interact with my site and see the latest comments that I have allowed I don’t want to wake up in the morning and find someone has left Matt Cutts cell number on my blog and Google has cached it (Google is quick at getting data slow at removing selective bits of your site)
so again I asked myself why would I need a google cached link… I mean I have seen sites like XOC’s hold rankings for years and all my new posts that rank in Google don’t have a cached link for days sometimes take the cleaners in london post early today:
http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=cleaners+in+london
Another argument was people like to see how Google see’s their site, the fact that google show you text version and a full version, but they also say “It is a snapshot of the page as it appeared on 7 Nov 2009 20:45:03 GMT. The current page could have changed in the meantime.” should be a signal that the data could be wrong but I can get real time what Googlebot see’s
So the only reason I can see why I should leave the Google Cached link is so that other people can see what my website looks like in Googles eyes and why would I do that ?
Dave
Arkan 1318 days ago
Is there any way to find out when Google last visited and cached a website (that you don’t own) without using the cached link?
I agree with you completely though, a cache link lead to my whole parent directory once, packed with stuff I don’t really want the world seeing (but not bothered by it enough to block it)
SearchCap: The Day In Search, November 9, 2009 1318 days ago
[...] Why you should USE the NoArchive Meta tag, David Naylor [...]
TallTroll 1318 days ago
1) Cache hash values can show up when you have multiple instances of a page indexed – occasionally useful
2) Cache dates let you track the *eaxct* moment a site go screwed, and how it cascaded
3) Serve a different page for select IPs to make it look like you are cloaking. Nothing funnier than competitors tryting to dob you in for cloaking that only they can see, and missing everything else you are doing. The IPs making cache requests are a good place to start
Amelia Vargo 1318 days ago
This is an interesting point… I use the cache version of my sites to see what Google has indexed and only really look at it when I’ve added new copy or changed around page titles or something. As a measuring stick it’s quite useful! But I really get your point about not wanting to share what google sees with your competitors.
Craig Fifield 1318 days ago
http://www.craigfifield.comI agree with you Dave.
However, I’ve seen the cache serve people well when WordPress gets hacked.
Rob 1317 days ago
http://www.searchkingdom.co.ukI have come across a couple of occasions where the Google cashed copy was used to rebuild a page on a client’s CMS that they kind of ‘lost’ when editing. It was handy then!
Ruud Hein 1317 days ago
http://ruudhein.comInteresting. The post reads a bit like “why shouldn’t you” to me instead of “you should”.
I see the “why not?” argued but don’t see the “why” answered.
What’s the upshot of doing this, David?
Anthony Shapley 1316 days ago
http://shapley.euGreat way to hide whether your cloaking a website
Wardy 1316 days ago
http://www.driving-experiences.co.uk/From a website owner perspective the only use I have for the cached link is to see when G latest did an update of my sites that don’t get done daily.
Blog Paradi-SEO 1315 days ago
http://blog.paradiseo.fr/Well re. non seo (subject) sites, should you want to look natural, leaving the cached link could be as you very well know a good idea.
If you use “noarchive” everywhere on all your pages, it sounds like you may want to hide a few cloaked pages .
Understand your points Dave, but not convinced
You could also have added 2 other reasons for using noarchive : fresh and perishable news,
or even better : on UGC sites (user generated content) trying to avoid the legal liabilities (hence illegal UGC content removed by moderators, but which could already appear in Google cached version) …
still you raise a flag !
Cu, Oscar
NGT Web Site Design 1309 days ago
Never thought about using NoArchive. I can certainly find use of it for a couple of our clients. Nice one.
This Week in Search for 11/12/09 1308 days ago
[...] Why You Should Use the NoArchive Meta Tag: Dave Naylor’s stance on Google’s cache can be argued, but he provides an interesting point of view, as well as several valid points. [...]
Freetoenjoy 1120 days ago
http://www.freetodownloads.comI have no idea about this meta tag before and thank you very much for your explanation about the application of it.
Sam Toms 1000 days ago
http://ModernoozeVery helpful information for me. i have been trying to get rid of google cache for a while now and this is the most effective way.
Sam Toms 1000 days ago
http://modernooze.comI also like to add that i am putting the tag on my site right now
kash seo 594 days ago
better change the title of the post.