Turn off JavaScript to see cache links in the SERPs

[santapaws]

i was sad when i saw the view cache link was gone from the serps since i am so fed up of either seeing the right snipper in the serps but clickng throuhg gets me to a redirected page or a requirement to signup or even pay to view content. The cache link allowed me to see what google saw when it spidered (i remember the day when it was a big deal to serve your visitors what you serve google). It wasnt till i recently turned off javascript by default that the cache link came back into view. Now why woould google hide the link only for javascript users?

[tedster]

The cache link was not "removed" from the SERPs - it was moved, however. Now, for the average user, it appears over the Instant Preview screen shot and you need JavaScript turned on in the browser for that hover behavior to work.

Thanks for posting this observation. I hadn't registered the fact that with JS turned off, the cached links were still accessible directly in the SERP.

[sanjuu]

You can use Firefox and the Greasemonkey extension to put the 'cached' link back where it was.

The script I have installed is like this one here: [gist.github.com...]

But I think I took the 'Hide Instant Preview Button' script and edited it to produce the same result as the one above.

[lucy24]

The cache link was not "removed" from the SERPs - it was moved, however. Now, for the average user, it appears over the Instant Preview screen shot

You mean the "cached" reference has nothing to do with the Preview that is directly below it, where any idiot --or at least this one-- would assume it's the Preview itself that's cached? I was recently tearing my hair out in another thread trying to figure out what that mythical Preview caching was all about.

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[tedster]

The traditional "cached" page is definitely not identical to the Preview - although it might be in many situations. In fact, the cached page isn't even in synch with the version of the page measured for ranking purpose. That's yet a third version of the page ;)

[tangor]

Traditional bait and switch when the rubes get smarter (or dumber) about their browser settings. JS has a lot of value, true, but it has a lot of "evil" possible as well. JS is off for me at all times even on sites where it might make a difference. We're experiencing the well-known behavior of the masses for "just give it to me" and vendors (browsers) doing all they can to oblige (turned on by default) because all the websites (g, too) are moving in a different direction (more JS).

Not quite a rant... just a fond memory of the bad old daze (sic!) when the web was a different kind of (html) beast. In this time it appears there are 666 ways to hide, obfuscate, diminish, mislead, lead, down the garden path... whoops! In SEO mode! :) (that's a joke in case it was missed)

Seriously... experience the web with JS OFF and ADS BLOCKED for a week to see what the web has become (ie., what you miss and/or rely on).