No Google Cache on Links Page [Archive]

hshachter

04-16-2006, 05:48 PM

I recently received a link request from a site where my backlink was posted to a page that did not have a Google Cache (it was an .asp type page). Am I correct to assume that any links on this page would not be recorded by G?

Is this a spam tactic?

movingman

04-18-2006, 02:26 PM

Generally speaking, new webpages will not have any Google cache. FME, it will take about 2 to 3 weeks before Google assigns a new webpage a cache.

hshachter

04-18-2006, 07:31 PM

I would think that a page with 100 other links would have an age of more than 2 - 3 weeks. I don't know much about .asp pages but I think I recall that they are "generated" from a database when a browser issues a command.

The question still remains, if Google does not index or cache a page, would the backlink be worthless?

Phil Staff

04-19-2006, 03:11 PM

hshatcher,

You are correct that asp pages are "generated" from a database when a browser issues a command, but they do not have to all be generated dynamically. Some people can use the .asp extension for any of their pages regardless of whether the page actually uses a database connection or not.

Additionally Cache and Index can be viewed as two different terms in a robots/search engines eyes. To not "cache" a page is to not "save" the page.

For example if you have a meta tag for robots that has content=NOARCHIVE the search engines can still *index* the page they just cannot save the page. If you did not want a robot to index the page you would use content=NOINDEX which would instruct the robot not to look at that page at all.

This is further explained on Google's website here: http://www.google.com/webmasters/remove.html#uncache .

-----Copy of Google's Information for Webmasters-----
"Google automatically takes a "snapshot" of each page it crawls and archives it. This "cached" version allows a webpage to be retrieved for your end users if the original page is ever unavailable (due to temporary failure of the page's web server). The cached page appears to users exactly as it looked when Google last crawled it, and we display a message at the top of the page to indicate that it's a cached version. Users can access the cached version by choosing the "Cached" link on the search results page.

To prevent all search engines from showing a "Cached" link for your site, place this tag in the <HEAD> section of your page::

<META NAME="ROBOTS" CONTENT="NOARCHIVE">
To allow other search engines to show a "Cached" link, preventing only Google from displaying one, use the following tag:

<META NAME="GOOGLEBOT" CONTENT="NOARCHIVE">

Note: this tag only removes the "Cached" link for the page. Google will continue to index the page and display a snippet."
-----End Copy-----

Regarding whether Google will count your link on their page as a reciprocal link that will have be determined by Google. I have seen in LinksManager accounts were another site is reciprocating from a page that ended in .asp and the Reciprocal Link Checker was able to verify the link as reciprocating which means that most likely the search engines will also be able to verify the link.

I would definitely not consider it a spam attempt if the site in question is relevant to your site and would make a good link partner for your campaign. If the site would be helpful to your end user I would recommend swapping links with them regardless of whether their pages are cached or not.

Phil