---
tytul: "How Google Manages Cache During Crawling"
opis: "Google's cache saves your crawl budget. Set ETag, If-None-Match and Cache-Control max-age exactly as Google recommends."
adres: https://justidea.agency/en/blog/how-google-manages-cache-during-crawling/
serwis: "JustIdea Agency"
jezyk: pl
zrodlo: automatyczny odpowiednik strony HTML, generowany przy każdym buildzie
---
Article

# How Does Google Manage Cache During Indexing?

 Google's cache saves your crawl budget. Set ETag, If-None-Match and Cache-Control max-age exactly as Google recommends.

[![Łukasz Zontek](https://justidea.agency/obrazy/lz-blog-150x150-1df182a0.webp) Łukasz Zontek SEO](https://justidea.agency/en/author/lukasz-zontek/) 17 December 2024 2 min read 9 sections

 ![How Does Google Manage Cache During Indexing?](https://justidea.agency/_astro/szablon-8-7-1-67a41f6c.CddruTq3.webp)  SEO

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**In this article**

1. 01How Does Google Manage Cache When Indexing Pages? (Crawling December: HTTP Caching)
2. 02Key Points of the Recommendation
3. 031. Handling HTTP Headers
4. 042. Cache-Control: Max-Age
5. 053. Formatting the Date in Last-Modified
6. 06Verifying Google Crawlers
7. 07Why Does This Matter?
8. 08Summary
9. 09See Also:

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## How Does Google Manage Cache When Indexing Pages? (Crawling December: HTTP Caching)

Google has published new guidance on effective cache ([cache](https://justidea.agency/en/services/websites/website-speed-optimization/)) management in the process of indexing web pages. The article highlights how servers can work with Google's bots to optimise crawl time and improve site performance.

## Key Points of the Recommendation

## 1. Handling HTTP Headers

Google recommends using headers that help bots determine whether a page's content has changed:

- **ETag and If-None-Match:** The preferred method for verifying content changes. The server returns an ETag header, and subsequent requests use If-None-Match.
- **Last-Modified and If-Modified-Since:** An older method based on the file's modification date. Google suggests using it together with ETag.

## 2. Cache-Control: Max-Age

Setting the Cache-Control header with a max-age value lets the server specify how long the content stays unchanged. Example:

## 3. Formatting the Date in Last-Modified

If you use Last-Modified, remember to use the standard HTTP date format:

## Verifying Google Crawlers

To make sure traffic comes from official Google bots, take three steps:

- Check the **User-Agent**, which identifies [Googlebot](https://justidea.agency/en/services/websites/website-seo-audit/).
- Verify the IP address: check whether it belongs to Google's IP range.
- Use **reverse DNS**: the host should match the \*.googlebot.com pattern.

## Why Does This Matter?

Correct header configuration saves server resources and speeds up the indexing of key changes on your site. As a result, it improves your website's visibility in search results.

## Summary

Google's new recommendations are a step towards better server resource optimisation and more efficient page indexing. Implementing HTTP headers such as ETag, along with proper Cache-Control configuration, will help your site run faster and more effectively. Cache header settings usually sit with the technical team, which is why an [SEO agency](https://justidea.agency/en/services/marketing-agency/positioning-seo/) implements these recommendations together with developers.

## See Also:

- [How to Remove Negative Reviews from Google?](https://justidea.agency/en/blog/how-to-remove-negative-google-reviews/)
- [What Should an SEO Audit Include?](https://justidea.agency/en/blog/what-should-an-seo-audit-include/)
- [What to Consider When Choosing an SEO Agency?](https://justidea.agency/en/blog/how-to-choose-an-seo-agency/)
- [Technical SEO Step by Step](https://justidea.agency/en/blog/technical-seo-checklist-step-by-step-guide/)
- [ChatGPT in SEO: See How to Use AI in Search Positioning](https://justidea.agency/en/blog/chatgpt-for-seo/)

 ![Łukasz Zontek](https://justidea.agency/obrazy/lz-blog-150x150-1df182a0.webp)

 Written by

[Łukasz Zontek](https://justidea.agency/en/author/lukasz-zontek/)

SEO

Have a question about this article? Write to us.

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## See also

[SEO 8 March 2025  How to Generate a Google Reviews Link and Share It with Customers? A Step-by-Step Guide Małgorzata Walo](https://justidea.agency/en/blog/how-to-generate-a-google-reviews-link/)[SEO 29 June 2026  Topic clusters: what they are and how to build them Kalina Mądry](https://justidea.agency/en/blog/topic-clusters-seo-guide/)[SEO 29 October 2025  Schema.org Structured Data and AI Content Visibility Wojciech Wabno](https://justidea.agency/en/blog/schema-org-structured-data-ai-visibility/)

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