Old links referred by search engine

[rincewind44]

Hi,
How long does a search engine store its links to sites before it refreshes them? I have made some directory changes on my site (thus changing some links) and the search engine have the old links listed. Can I request these links removed or do I just have to wait? I 've set up a custom 404 page to offer other ways of finding the page or a redirection to the mainpage.
Thanks

 

[ChrisHirst]

Google may take 2 to 3 months to remove the links it depends really on how often the googlebot visits, mostly dead links are removed on the first or second 'dance' after the bot starts receiving 404's or 301's.


Chris.


Indifference will be the downfall of mankind, but who cares?

 

[rincewind44]

nice1 thanks, just wanted to make sure