Information about Google

Article Navigation

Click Here for more articles

Cache in the Bank: Understanding Google's Advanced Operators

by: Cari Haus

Copyright 2005 Log Cabin Rustics

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 an online retailer of quality log furniture.

Circulated by Article Emporium

Read Articles:

Search Isn't All About Google Anymore

Before You Register a Domain Name for Your New ...

Getting Approved by Adsense in a Jiffy�

Four Sure-Fire Ways to Generate Targeted Traffi...

Blogging for Dollars

Traffic Arbitrage- The new kid on the block

The Life Blood of Internet-Based Home Businesse...

"If an RSS feed is the Yahoo backdoor, is a Blo...

How to Find an Affiliate Program For Any Niche ...

Are You Ready for a Plain English Guide to Inte...

Adsense � The Powerful Passive Income Generator

Understanding what Reciprocal Linking means

Google Page Rank - important or just another nu...

Free Web Traffic Through Page Rank

Of Spam and Sandboxes

How to Get Targeted Search Engine Traffic Quickly

Winning the (r) Google AdSense War

A Smart Trick for Attracting Higher Paying AdSe...

Monitor and Increase Your Search Engine Visibil...

Understanding the Game of Search Engines.

Online Home-Based Businesses Can Give You Searc...

Why Google Blog Search Matters to Your Business

Your Online Home-Based Business Can Lead To Sea...

The Search Engine Optimization Game Is Getting ...

Tips for maximizing Your Google AdSense Revenues

The secret of how I got GoogleCash for free wit...

A Home Based Business Modeled After Google

Google's own AdSense Tips

A five minute task that is saving me $750 A MONTH!

The Ultimate Free Google Ranking Tool

Google Adsense Page Positioning

Introducing PageRank - shattering the myth

Meet Adwords, AdSense�s Fraternal Twin

6 more free steps to making money online

Press Release + PRWeb = Top Google Rank... True...

Grow your Internet Business with Pay Per Click ...

Keywords: They Unlock All The Right Doors

Is Click Fraud Really a Problem?

4 Tricks For Lightning Fast Indexing�

AdSense is Stupid When...

More Article Pages 1 - 2 - 3

5 Ways Google Will Help You With Your Traffic
by: Tinu AbayomiPaul

If you�ve ever had a severe drop in your Google rankings in search results, you may think of Google more of an enemy than an ally.

But if you knew what I do, you�d realize that there are tools provided by the search engine that help you learn more about your traffic, and may even help drive visitors to your site.

Here are five ways that Google provides free traffic assistance.

#1 - Google will Help Your Pages Get Discovered with Google Sitemaps
https://www.google.com/webmasters/sitemaps/login

Google Sitemaps is a program that gives you the opportunity to present your site�s pages to Google in XML or text. Google will then come by and spider the pages, getting you indexed faster.

Take note that this doesn�t necessarily mean that your pages will be listed for your favorite keywords, only that discovery will take place a lot faster than with manual submission. Google Sitemaps will also give you some basic site stats if you verify your site, such as the top keywords for discovery, errors it found when crawling, and the types of documents at your site.

If you find compiling your sitemap for Google in the correct format difficult, try the SOFTplus GSiteCrawler Google Sitemap generator. It�s my favorite Sitemap generator, free and easy to use.

#2 - Google Will Talk To You and Your Webmaster In His or Her Native Tongue or Plain English with the Webmaster Section
http://www.google.com/webmasters/

The Google Information Page for Webmasters should be your first stop when you want to know more about anything that has to do with your site and its relationship to Google and any of its many flavors of search such as Froogle. Particularly for new site owners or operators, checking this page first has saved many from needless anxiety.

Most of the basic information is in straightforward language, with links to details for geeks like me.

#3 - Google will Tell You What It Knows with Web Page Information

If you type info:yoursite.com into Google, Google will tell show you a page that has your link at the top of the page, with a short description, and the following phrase �Google can show you the following information for this URL�.

This special page compiles several queries about your site including pages that contain your URL (all the pages Google knows of that are linked to you).

#4 - Google will Help You Analyze Your Traffic with Google Analytics
http://www.google.com/analytics/

After a recent purchase of Urchin Stats, a free online version has been made available, and re-branded as Google Analytics. This cookie-based invisible visitor tracker can give you information that go a bit beyond standard stats such as bounce rates, visitor loyalty, keyword discovery results for a single day, click paths through your site, and page views per visit.

With the ability to analyze your traffic, you can help learn where the holes in your site are, and how to keep them on your site for longer periods of time, as well as better ways to steer a visit towards a specific action, such as a subscription. Results come in flavors for the executive and the search marketer alike.

There�s currently a waiting list to use Google Analytics due to popular demand.

#5 - Google Will Advise On Getting the Most from Your Traffic with Conversion University
http://www.google.com/analytics/conversionuniversity.html

Google Analytics also has two content sections that are available to all, called Conversion University. While the articles are decidedly slanted towards AdWords users, a prudent read yields many clues that can be applied to preparing for visitors who arrive through organic search discovery. One reference area is called �Driving Traffic�, the other �Converting Visitors.�

At the end of the day, the process by which your site gets ranked in Google search engine results is a computation of a complex algorithm, which means Google - the search engine - really isn�t capable of being your best friend or your worst enemy.

Meanwhile, Google - the company - also provides access to resources that will help give your site a fighting chance.

This Static Spot is open for sponsor

This Static Spot is open for sponsor