A robots meta tag that instructs search engines not to display a cached link or snippet for a page in search results.
Webmasters and SEO professionals read this when managing website content and optimizing search engine visibility.
01What it is and how it works
The noarchive directive is added to the robots meta tag in the HTML head of a page. When a search engine like Google crawls the page, it reads this directive and skips storing a cached snapshot. Instead of showing a "Cached" link beneath the page title in search results, Google may display a message indicating the cached version is not available. This does not prevent the page from being indexed or appearing in search results; it only removes the cached copy option. The directive applies to all crawlers that follow the Robots Exclusion Protocol, though each search engine may interpret or display the result slightly differently. For example, Bing shows a "No preview available" notice when noarchive is set. The tag is typically written as: . It can also be combined with other directives such as noindex or nosnippet within the same meta tag.
noarchive is a meta tag that stops search engines from showing a cached version of your page.
02What to do about it
If you want to remove cached versions of specific pages, add the noarchive directive to the robots meta tag in the HTML head of those pages. This is useful for pages with time-sensitive content, such as event listings or pricing pages that change frequently. Edit the HTML directly or use your CMS settings to insert the meta tag. If you are using a plugin like Yoast SEO or Rank Math, you can often set this through the advanced tab in the page settings. After updating the page, request a recrawl through Google Search Console to speed up the removal of the cached link. Monitor the page in Search Console to confirm the cached version is no longer served. If you later decide you want the cached version back, simply remove the noarchive directive and allow time for Google to reprocess the page.
03How it is measured or noticed
To check if a page has the noarchive directive, view the page source and look for the robots meta tag in the head section. Search for the string "noarchive" to confirm it is present. You can also use browser developer tools to inspect the head element. In Google Search Console, you can use the URL Inspection tool to see how Googlebot sees the page, including which robots directives are active. If noarchive is set, the cached link will not appear when you search for the page on Google. Note that it may take some time for the cached link to disappear after the directive is added, depending on how often Google crawls the page.
04Common mistakes
- Using noarchive when you mean noindex — noarchive only hides the cached copy, not the page itself from search results
- Applying noarchive sitewide when only specific pages need it — this can reduce trust signals for pages that benefit from showing a cached version
- Forgetting to combine noarchive with other directives when needed — for example, using only noarchive on a page you also want to exclude from snippets
- Expecting immediate removal of the cached link — Google must recrawl the page before the change takes effect
- Placing noarchive in the wrong location — it must be in the HTML head, not the body or an external file
05Limits and confusion
The noarchive directive does not stop a page from being indexed or appearing in search results. It only prevents the display of a cached link. It is often confused with noindex, which removes the page from search results entirely, and nosnippet, which removes the description text. Some search engines may not fully respect or visibly act on noarchive, and the directive has no effect on how AI-powered search features display content. Additionally, noarchive only affects traditional web search results and does not influence how your content appears in AI-generated answers or overviews.
06Worked example
A news publisher updates breaking articles every few minutes. To prevent readers from accessing outdated cached versions, they add <meta name="robots" content="noarchive"> to the head of each article page. After Google recrawls the page, the "Cached" link disappears from search results, ensuring users always click through to the latest version on the publisher's site.
Frequently asked questions
Should I add noarchive to my pages?
Yes, if you want to prevent cached copies from showing in search results, you should add the noarchive directive to the robots meta tag on those pages.
What does noarchive actually do?
It stops search engines from indexing or displaying cached versions of a page when it appears in search results, which helps control visibility for specific pages.
Does noarchive stop a page from being indexed entirely?
No, adding noarchive doesn't prevent indexing altogether; it only prevents cached snippets from appearing, while the live page may still be found through other means.
Is noarchive useful for old blog posts?
Sometimes, but it's most effective for newly published pages where you specifically don't want previous search engine caches to show up; for older content the impact is less clear.
How do I apply noarchive correctly?
Add <meta name="robots" content="noarchive"> to the robots meta tag inside the HTML head of the target page, making sure the tag is present in the rendered source.
Asked out loud
spoken, not typedThe same term in the words somebody uses speaking to an assistant rather than typing into a box — written from the situation, which is why each one carries the situation it came from.
Yes, you can add the noarchive directive to the robots meta tag on the affected page, which will take effect immediately once the updated HTML is served.
It depends on your workflow—if you regularly generate archived documents, adding noarchive to each page's robots tag will keep their cached versions hidden without extra steps.
Usually no—noarchive only blocks cached snippets, not full indexing—so it won't prevent your pages from being discovered, though you should verify the tag was applied correctly.