Google cache problem

Rob · 10-19-2003, 01:17 PM

If you'd look up the cache for internet-marketing-research.net in Google, the URL google retrieves would look like this:
http://216.239.59.104/search?q=cache...hl=en&ie=UTF-8

Now, when I try to look up the cache for 1001onlinegames.com, it shows the following:
http://216.239.59.104/search?q=cache...hl=en&ie=UTF-8

I'm clueless.

Rob · 10-19-2003, 01:21 PM

Combined with the IBL problem, perhaps that might help:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&i...nlinegames.com

PhilC · 10-19-2003, 01:22 PM

I take it you're refering to the absence of graphics?

Google doesn't keep the graphics for its cache display. They are aquired from the page's site on-the-fly and, in this case, the graphics no longer exist where they were. It's one of my objections to Google's cache - not only do they display someone else's site inside their own, but they use the other site's bandwidth to do it.

Rob · 10-19-2003, 01:25 PM

No I'm wondering why Google tries to load the cache images from the 1freestuffsite.com server.

Example:
My logo in that cache is called 1001-online-games.gif. Google tries to load it as http://www.1freestuffsite.com/1001-online-games.gif.

Edit: Bad typo.

PhilC · 10-19-2003, 01:45 PM

The image source is a relative URL and the cache is of http://www.1freestuffsite.com/links....ed&link_id=488 so http://www.1freestuffsite.com/ is where the image is being aquired from - or not being aquired from.

Rob · 10-19-2003, 01:51 PM

Why is that so when my site's URL is 1001onlinegames.com and I do not even own 1freestuffsite.com? All they do is link to my site.

PhilC · 10-19-2003, 01:55 PM

Maybe we should start at the beginning. How did you come up with that cache - what did you search on to find the "cache" link?

Rob · 10-19-2003, 02:03 PM

Yeah it's a weird issue and perhaps I'm not too good at explaining it, but here goes.

I went to Google, searched for "www.1001onlinegames.com". As a result, I got my website in result, which is fine. I clicked on "Show Google's cache of www.1001onlinegames.com", which results in:
"This is G o o g l e's cache of http://www.1freestuffsite.com/links.php?action=rated&link_id=488."

In other words, it does not show the cache for my website 1001onlinegames. Instead, it shows some kind of cache for http://www.1freestuffsite.com/links....ed&link_id=488 , which does show parts of my design but it tries to load the images, originally located on my server, from the 1freestuffsite.com server.

I'm still clueless.

PhilC · 10-19-2003, 02:44 PM

What's happening is that "www.1001onlinegames.com" is the search term and Google isn't finding your www.1001onlinegames.com site - it's finding the other one because, as you said, that one contains your URL in its page. So when Google is offering to show you the cache of "www.1001onlinegames.com", it's actually offering to show you the cache of the page that it's found, which is the other site (the search term) and not yours, as it isn't aware of your site. Presumably it has been programmed to assume that, when a URL is searched on, it will come up with the URL and not a page that contains it.

Gede · 10-19-2003, 02:59 PM

I think you found a genuine Google Bug. Report it.

Rob · 10-20-2003, 03:01 AM

I sent the problem to webmaster@google.com. Also, I have e-mailed 1freestuffsite.com requesting them to take off our link, perhaps that will help.

I'm seriously thinking this is somehow the cause of my IBL problem. And perhaps also the reason why Googlebot isn't crawling my website.

PhilC · 10-20-2003, 03:08 AM

No. I don't see how that can be anything to do with it. Google does crawl your site - the robots.txt file and the home page. It just doesn't go any further yet. And the IBLs point to your domain.

Rob · 10-20-2003, 09:05 AM

Well Googlebot hasn't crawled my home page yet. All it does it get the robots.txt file and get out.

PhilC · 10-20-2003, 09:20 AM

Sorry - it's the failing grey cells

It's not unusual for Google to do that. It's not unusual for it to take weeks or months before spidering a new page on a site that it spiders every day - it's doing it now to one of my sites.

Sorry about my memory but does the site have IBLs from other decent PR sites?

Rob · 10-20-2003, 09:27 AM

Yeah, at least 10 with a minimum PR of 5.

By the way: I just noticed that javascript linking to other websites causes a little problem, my site doesn't show up in their statistics as a referral.

Bah. Perhaps I have to go back to normal linking.

PhilC · 10-20-2003, 09:46 AM

The referer should show up with Javascript links. There's a problem with IE where the referer isn't passed when javascript auto-redirects (a javascript auto-click is the way round it), but referers are passed in both IE and NS when someone clicks on a javascript link. At least it was like that a few years ago.

Mel · 10-20-2003, 10:03 AM

Hi Rob;
Try this Google search;
allinurl:www.1001onlinegames.com which returns the following for the first result:

404 Not Found
www.1001onlinegames.com/get.media?t=n - 1k - Cached - Similar pages

If you can find and cure this 404 error it just might fix your spidering problems. By the way, your home page is in the Google index.

Rob · 10-20-2003, 10:04 AM

Auto-click? Can you give me an example?

Rob · 10-20-2003, 10:08 AM

Ehrm.. that's weird, Mel. Do you have any ideas yourself?

Google is a pain

Rob · 10-20-2003, 10:59 AM

It has to be something with the old design. I'm hoping Phil is right and Googlebot will crawl my website eventually.