Freshness signals tell search engines and AI systems when a page was published and when it last changed in a meaningful way. The main ones are a visible date on the page, datePublished and dateModified in structured data, and lastmod in the XML sitemap. They matter most for topics that change often, and they only help when they are accurate.
Why freshness matters
Google has favoured recent content for time-sensitive searches for a long time; its 2011 freshness update was described at the time as affecting about 35% of searches. AI assistants face the same problem in a sharper form: an answer based on an out-of-date page can be simply wrong, for example about prices, regulations or software versions. Systems therefore look for signs of when a page was last updated, especially for questions where the answer changes.
The signals
| Signal | Where it lives | What to get right |
|---|---|---|
| Visible date | On the page, near the title | Show “Published” and, when relevant, “Updated” with real dates |
| datePublished and dateModified | Article or BlogPosting JSON-LD | Match the visible dates; include a time zone |
| lastmod | XML sitemap | Change only when the main content changes |
| Content itself | The text | Mention the year where it matters, remove outdated statements |
What Google says about dates
Google’s documentation on byline dates asks publishers to show a clear date, label it (“Published”, “Updated”), use the same dates in structured data, and avoid giving a page a new date without substantial changes. Google also says it uses sitemap lastmod values when they are consistently and verifiably accurate, and ignores them for sites where they are not. A site that updates every lastmod daily teaches Google to disregard all of them.
Common mistakes
- Changing the date after fixing a typo, so the “updated” label means nothing
- Plugins that set lastmod to the current time for every URL whenever the sitemap is generated
- A visible date that differs from the structured data date
- Pages with no date at all on topics where age matters
- “2024” in a title that was never updated, which signals neglect in 2026
When to update a page
Update the date when the answer or advice on the page has changed: new figures, a new version of a tool, a changed rule, a corrected mistake, a new section. Do not update it for formatting, spelling or small wording changes. If a guide is reviewed and nothing needs changing, the old date is accurate.
On this site, blog posts show both a published date and an updated date, and the updated date only appears when a post has changed at least a day after publication.
Frequently asked questions
Will updating dates improve rankings?
Changing a date without changing the content should not help, and Google warns against it. Updating the content where it has gone out of date can help, because the page then answers the question better.
Does freshness matter for every page?
No. A guide to a stable concept can stay accurate for years. Freshness matters most for prices, laws, software, news and any topic where the right answer changes.