Q and A: How can I get Google to update the cache on my pages?

Dear Kalena...

Thanks so much for your blog. I cannot begin to tell you how much I have learned in the past few months.

My question today is there any way to get Google to update the cache on some of my pages? If the cache has not been updated in a year, can I assume that Google feels the page is really irrelevent?

Sunny regards,
Lisa

Kalena's Answer:

Dear Lisa

Thanks for the feedback on the blog. Now to answer your question, don't assume anything with Google! Just because the big G hasn't indexed your page in a while or is showing an outdated version, doesn't necessarily mean anything bad. Google and other search engines move to their own beat when it comes to collecting, sorting and displaying updated page content.

Here are a few ways to improve your chances of having your pages indexed and cached more regularly by Google:

• Use a robots.txt file with specific instructions to Googlebot regarding pages you want indexed or avoided.
  
  
• Create and submit an XML site map to Google SiteMaps.
  
  
• Use a reliable hosting firm to make sure your site is live 24/7.
  
  
• Update your page content regularly (this can be achieved easily by creating a blog or newsfeed).
  
  
• Improve the link popularity of your site by acquiring one way links pointing to it from high quality related sites and directories. This article and this one should help.
  
  
• Create unique, useful, humorous and timely content that people will want to link to and visit on a regular basis.

Good luck Lisa and keep reading :-)