How to Use Google Cache to Research How Google Sees Your Page

toolboxAs most people know, how a search engine sees your webpage is different than how a human sees you page… search engines cannot read your graphics. They also have problems with Flash, Javascript and Ajax to name a few.

It is important to design your webpages so they are usable to both humans and search engines.   I like to use this tool to visually (and viscerally) demonstrate to clients how their page functions (or fails) in the eyes of a search engine.

It is actually pretty easy to see how your page actually looks to Google.

First, you have to do a search in Google and find the page you are want to research.  Try searching for ‘site:www.yourdomain.com’ to get a list if it helps.  After you find your domain, click on “Cache”:

Click on the Cache

Click on the Cache

Then, in the upper right hand corner note the date that the “cache” was created and then click on “Text-only Version”:

googlecache2

Click on Text Only Version

Voila, you see what your pages looks like to Google:

google cache - text only version

Comments

  1. Steve Morris says:

    Great tip, but an easier way to it (if your using firefox ) is go to the view menu click on the page style sub menu and hit the no style button

  2. Johnn says:

    Yes this is the great option for seo’s to keep an eye on crawling in Google and live. But in Yahoo this option was removed. Could you please tell me, is there any way to check the crawling date in Yahoo.