Changes in SERP after Cache Update

[gouri]

Usually, after making changes to a webpage, I think you can see a change in the SERP after 3 or 4 days, and that is sometimes before the cache update takes place.

I was wondering if you can see changes in the SERP after the cache update has been done? Is it something to look for?

When I say cache update, I mean when you click on cache it shows the version with the changes made.

[tedster]

Ranking changes based on your page changes almost invariably happen before a new cache page is shown. Only some kind of a data center tangle at Google would make it otherwise, in my opinion. Updating the publicly visible cache (which is NOT the same as the behind-the-scenes cache that googlebot creates as it spiders) is a later step in the process. It's done after the ranking calculations arre made live.

Some changes, especially those involving links between domains, may also have a gradual effect on ranking. So the effects of that kind of change could well be seen bit by bit, even after the cached page is updated, and even over a period of months.

[gouri]

I first wanted to say that, that is great information.

I was wondering what you thought about this. A change in the header of your website. The header is appearing on all the pages (e.g. Creating Great Widgets). It is the same. Would the change have to be appearing in the cache version of all of a site's pages for an effect to show?

With body text, I have seen more of what you mention at the beginning of your post: The changes usually happen before a new cache page is shown.

[tedster]

Changing text in the header of every page can be a dangerous thing to do. It's the kind of thing that might show postiive changes for the first few pages that get indexed, and then show a negative effect later on when the full extent of the changes gets indexed. I would NOT make sitewide changes lightly, but only if there is a very pressing need.