One of Google Search’s most enduring features – the “Cached” link – is being retired, according to a recent post by Google’s Danny Sullivan. The Cached button provides a snapshot of a webpage as it looked the last time Google indexed it. While once crucial for accessing sites during the early days of the internet, Google says it is now redundant.
However, many still rely on the Cached link for more than just a backup. SEO professionals use it to check pages for errors, journalists see if information has been recently added or removed, and some access geo-blocked sites this way. So the announcement in Sullivan’s post, spotted by The Verge, has drawn entirely negative reactions so far.
Previously, clicking the three-dot menu next to search results brought up the Cached link at bottom right. Now this opens a larger menu with the website’s “About” page, Wikipedia description, privacy data and more – but no cache option.
One SEO user appealed “come on, why delete the function? It’s really helpful for all SEO.” Sullivan did float adding Internet Archive links where the Cached button used to live. But this could drive huge amounts of traffic to the Internet Archive, so he cautioned “No promises. We have to talk to them, see how it all might go — involves people well beyond me. But I think it would be nice all around.”
For now, one of Google Search’s most venerable capabilities is gone. Power users like SEO analysts, journalists, and web developers have lost a handy tool for vetting and debugging sites. While Sullivan argues cached links are no longer necessary, the overwhelmingly negative response signals many still find Significant value in this little snapshot back in time.
