Hi,

Googlebot visited my site a few days ago, but when I look up my site on google, and view the site pages cached by google, they are still showing the old contents.

How frequently does google update the page cache? and after how many days from the googlebot visit should I see the impact on ranking due to changes that I had made in the page contents?

It can take anywhere from less than a day to about a month for pages to be updated within Google, after Googlebot visits. Google has said that the exact time will vary based on how popular Google perceives the page to be, how often it assumes it should be updated and other factors.

When the update happens, you'll see that cached page change.

Here's an example. In a search (http://www.google.com/search?q=cnn) today for CNN, I see CNN.com ranked tops. The www.cnn.com/+cnn&hl=en]cached (http://66.102.9.104/search?q=cache:XBvJ7pr5NuMJ: copy shows the page having a date of June 14.

You can bet Googlebot's been to the page since June 14, but the fresher information has yet to be updated.

In the case of CNN, Google also shows a date in its listing, like this:

CNN.com
... US. Weather. Business at CNN/Money. Sports at SI.com. ... CNNRADIO Listen to latest updates. MORE VIDEOVIDEO. Nancy Reagan's escort recalls last week's events PLAY VIDEO. ...
[url]www.cnn.com/ - 54k - 14 Jun 2004 - Cached - Similar pages

See the 14 June 2004 part that I put in bold? That's Google saying the date of the page it has in its index. Unfortunately, only tends to report a date for pages that it tends to visit every few days or more frequently.

Does it also imply that even the impact of site content changes on page rank will be visible only at a later date (probably along with teh cache updation)?

Thanks,
-Vikram

Does it also imply that even the impact of site content changes on page rank will be visible only at a later date (probably along with teh cache updation)?

Thanks,
-Vikram

Vikram,

Can you clarify that question? Site Content and PageRank have nothing to do with each other directly.

I don't know if PageRank is the right term ... I meant the relevance of the site/page with respect to certain keywords.

I am new to SEO activity, and have been trying to tweak contents of the site for better search result ranking for keywords relevant to my site.

To take an example, when someone searches for "runtime form designer", our site appears pretty high in the search result on google... we appear in the first five, but when someone searches for "form designer" we get pushed to the ninth page :confused:

I made a few changes in the pages to get better search ranking (based on inputs from various sources including searchenginewatch). Now googlebot visited, and there is still no change in the search ranking when "form designer" is searched. I am wondering if I should wait for some more time before trying any further changes in the contents?

Regards,
- Vikram

If Google itself isn't showing the changes you made on those pages, then yes, you should wait before doing more. Check the cached copies of the pages you changed. When they match what's actually on your site, then you know Google's registered your changes. Hopefully, you'll also then move up.

Having said there, there are other factors that may come into play. For example, Google might not update its database of link data and PageRank scores at the same time it updates your page. Those might help you. But if you act to quickly to change your pages, you might possibly hurt yourself.

A general rule of thumb is to give it a month or so before doing more work. That might be too long for some to wait, but it is a bit safer. You can use that time to perhaps also work on building up some relevant links to your site.

Keep in mind that being top ranked for "runtime form designer" will be much easier than just "form designer." With the first example, you're battling it out against less than 100,000 pages. With the latter, you face over 4 million pages and for a topic that's much less defined (there are many different types of form designers). So expect that for the more popular query, it may be that you still won't crack the top ten. Given these, be sure you focus on other well targeted terms that while may not attract as much traffic will yield a more targeted audience.

I hesitate to cross swords with the Chief but ... :)

I tend to have a non-traditional view with respect to updating web pages. It's true that even the Google spiders take some time to get around to new web pages that have a low PageRank. Then perhaps it may take some time for that information to be indexed in the databases. So it is often recommended to wait to see what happens to the SERP's once your web pages are clearly indexed.

Have the changes you made for your keyword phrase 'black and white goats' moved you up from # 35 among the 214,000 web pages Google lists for these keywords? If you wait and find you have moved to # 12, then you may guess you did something right. :) On the other hand, if you move to # 51 then perhaps you did something wrong. :(

Well I say, not so fast. As that ancient Greek philosopher, Heraclites, said "You can never walk into the same river twice." Things change. Google is tweaking its algorithms all the time. Many more competitors with black and white goats may have got on the Web, or may have gone out of business. Perhaps you can infer something from changes. Perhaps you can't.

I believe that, if you know there are some things that could be clearly improved in your web pages, then do them right away. You are probably improving the web page's SERP potential and of course you don't know when those spiders are coming around again. At the very least, if the web pages are refreshened more often this may encourage the spiders to visit more often.

So I say, go for it, don't be shy.

A general rule of thumb is to give it a month or so before doing more work. That might be too long for some to wait, but it is a bit safer. You can use that time to perhaps also work on building up some relevant links to your site.


Thanks...

We are already listing our products on a large number of shareware sites. Most of these have a back link to our home page (unfortunately not the page which is most relevant to a particular product). Do you have any other suggestions to build relevant external links?

Also, while I am asking about the links... does it help if I also link out to some of these shareware site? Does that help improve ranking?

I recall reading something about "bad neighborhood" sites on google webmaster guide. Is there a way to check which site will be considered as "bad neighborhood" by google?

Thanks,

Regards,
-Vikram

Do you have any other suggestions to build relevant external links?
Nice group of threads at the Links Forum that has some good suggestions.
http://forums.searchenginewatch.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=44


Also, while I am asking about the links... does it help if I also link out to some of these shareware site? Does that help improve ranking?
It's the links to you that will count.