If you would like to know when your site was last indexed by Google, you can find out easily by using the Google cache command. By typing "cache:www.logcabinrustics.com" into the Google search engine, I learned that my site was last indexed yesterday. The Google cache also displays the web page at the time of indexing, so you can see the latest version of your page that was indexed by Google.
As some webmasters have learned, the Google cache feature can be particularly handy when a valuable website and its backup have been lost due to computer failures. It may be time-consuming, especially if you have hundreds of pages, but you can actually retrieve the "lost" pages from your site in the form that Google last indexed them. If this doesn't work, you might also try the Wayback Machine at archive.org.
Forensic experts have also used the Google cache feature to their advantage—to retrieve incriminating evidence from the web. This should be an important reminder to all webmasters not to publish sensitive material online. A later decision not to publish some tantalizing tidbit, and the frantic page-pulling that ensues, may not be enough to erase those ill-said words from the Net.
Webmasters are supposed to be able to block Google from caching their site by using the "no cache" tag. However, many don't even try this for fear of losing favor in the company's powerful search rankings. Although Google says the "no cache" tags don't affect web rankings, some webmasters aren't so sure.
Other Helpful Google Operators
Other helpful search engine operators of particular value to webmasters include:
LINK: The LINK operator, when used in conjunction with your domain name, is supposed to tell you how many links are pointing to your site. The syntax for this command is "link:http://www.thevegetarianexpress.com/. By way of caution, this only shows how many links indexed by Google that are linking to you. A more inclusive option is found at the Marketleap website, where the Link Popularity Tool reports how many links are pointing to your site from other well-traveled search engines as well.
INURL: Google's INURL operator will restrict your search to one site only. For example, typing "inurl:www.logcabinrustics.com log beds" will bring up the log beds only on the Log Cabin Rustics furniture website. This is a particularly helpful option if you are looking for a specific phrase on one site.
INTITLE: The INTITLE operator is helpful if you are looking for sites with a particular keyword in their title tag. Use this phrase at Google by typing in "intitle:furniture" or whatever other search term you are looking for.
Variations of the above themes include the ALLINURL and ALLINTITLE search operators. These are particularly useful when you are looking for a string of keywords in either a title or site. For example, if you start a query with allinurl:, Google will restrict the results to those with all of the query words in the url. For instance, [allinurl:logcabinrustics.com bunk beds] will return only documents that have both "bunk" and "beds" in the url.
Google operators can be especially helpful in analyzing the web pages of key competitors. To learn more, visit http://www.google.com/help/operators.html.
About the Author:
Cari Haus is webmaster for http://www.logcabinrustics.com, an online retailer of quality log furniture.About this site:
Open Tips website is developed using SEO Web Design by Binh Nguyen to provide free tips and advices from well known experts.What's next?
Do you like "Cache in the Bank: Understanding Google's Advanced Operators"?
Link to this page:
- Step 1: Copy the following HTML code (Click on the box and press Ctrl+C):
'? onclick='this.select()'/> - Step 2: Paste the copied code to your web page's HTML (Ctrl+V) to where you want to place the link.
- Step 3: When viewing on a web browser it should look like this: Cache in the Bank: Understanding Google's Advanced Operators.
Digg
del.icio.us
FURL
Reddit
Yahoo!
FavoritesFeatured Tips for Google
Are You Ready for a Plain English Guide to Internet Marketing?
Have you ever been horrified and intimidated at the convoluted, jargon-reliant information about Internet marketing available on the Net? Often it results in many companies becoming confused and...
Press ReleasePromote Your Website in Google Absolutely Free
Free SEO help. The SEO Book helps charities promote their websites in Google, Yahoo!, MSN, and other major search engines. The recently updated number one ranking SEO Book is now available to...
How to Find What You Want with Google
Most people who search on the internet have a favorite search engine. In fact, the majority of internet users choose Google. Do you fall into this category? If so, are you taking advantage of...
Pizzazz Prevents Piracy of your Articles
Writing articles for the web is an effective way to bring more traffic to your site. You write the article, you include a link in the author's info box, you submit it to article distributors and it...
What In The World Is This Google Sandbox Theory Thing? And How Do I Beat It?
Copyright 2005 Brad M Callen Ok, so over the past month or so I've been collecting various search engine optimization questions from all of you. Today, I'm going to answer what was the most...