Google uses dates as freshness signals. The question is whether you’re sending the right ones.
A Nashville-based medical publisher learned this the hard way. They updated their article timestamps daily without changing content, thinking it would signal freshness. Three months later, their health content dropped from page one to page three. Google’s systems had flagged the mismatch between claimed freshness and actual staleness.
This guide breaks down how publication dates and last updated signals actually work, when to use them strategically, and when leaving them out entirely makes more sense.
How Google Interprets Date Signals
Google doesn’t take your word for it when you claim a page was updated yesterday. The search engine cross-references multiple signals to determine actual freshness.
These signals include visible dates on the page, structured data markup (datePublished, dateModified), HTTP headers, crawl history, and detected content changes. When these signals conflict, Google makes its own determination about the true date, often ignoring what you’ve declared.
| Signal Type | Weight | Google's Trust Level |
|---|---|---|
| Visible date + matching schema | High | Strong if consistent |
| Schema only (no visible date) | Medium | Moderate |
| Visible date contradicted by content | Low | Often ignored |
| Frequent date changes, no content changes | Negative | Potential trust erosion |
The core principle: Google verifies freshness claims against actual content changes. Mismatched signals don’t help; they hurt.
Publication Date Best Practices
The publication date represents when content first went live. For most content types, displaying this date builds trust with readers who want to know the information’s origin point.
Display format matters. Use complete dates (January 15, 2025) rather than relative dates (“3 months ago”). Relative dates shift constantly and create confusion when pages get cached or shared.
Placement should be consistent. Pick a location, whether below the title, in the byline, or at the article’s end, and use it across your entire site. Inconsistent placement confuses both users and Google’s date extraction systems.
Don’t backdate. If you’re rewriting an old article substantially, treat it as new content with a new publication date. Keeping an old date on essentially new content creates a mismatch Google may flag.
For YMYL content (health, finance, legal), visible publication dates aren’t optional. Readers need to assess whether the information reflects current medical guidelines, tax laws, or regulations. A health article without a date is a health article many informed readers won’t trust.
Last Updated: The More Important Signal
Last updated dates carry more weight than publication dates for ranking purposes, particularly for queries where freshness matters. A 2019 article updated thoroughly in 2025 can outrank a 2024 article that hasn’t been touched.
The key word is “thoroughly.” Google’s systems detect meaningful content changes versus superficial tweaks. Changing a few words or updating the timestamp without substantive edits doesn’t trigger freshness benefits. In fact, repeatedly updating dates without corresponding content changes can erode trust in your freshness signals.
What counts as a meaningful update:
- Adding new information, statistics, or sections
- Updating outdated advice or recommendations
- Refreshing examples with current references
- Removing no-longer-accurate information
- Expanding thin sections with additional depth
What doesn’t count:
- Fixing typos
- Changing the date
- Minor formatting adjustments
- Adding or removing a sentence or two
Display last updated dates prominently when content has been meaningfully refreshed. The format should clearly distinguish it from the original publication date: “Originally published January 10, 2023. Last updated January 12, 2025.”
Schema Markup Implementation
Structured data gives Google explicit signals about your content’s temporal attributes. The two key properties are datePublished and dateModified.
For article content, use the Article schema with both properties:
{
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Article",
"headline": "Your Article Title",
"datePublished": "2023-01-10T09:00:00-06:00",
"dateModified": "2025-01-12T14:30:00-06:00",
"author": {
"@type": "Person",
"name": "Author Name"
}
}Critical implementation rules:
Use ISO 8601 format with timezone information. “2025-01-12” works, but “2025-01-12T14:30:00-06:00” is more precise and less ambiguous.
Keep dateModified accurate. Only update this property when you’ve made meaningful content changes. Schema markup that contradicts visible dates or doesn’t reflect actual changes undermines all your date signals.
For evergreen content that rarely changes, you can omit dateModified entirely rather than forcing an artificial update cycle.
Strategic Date Management
Different content types warrant different approaches to date display and updates.
News and current events require prominent, precise dates. These articles live and die by their timeliness. Display both publication date and time when relevant.
Evergreen reference content (how-to guides, definitions, foundational concepts) often performs better with either minimal date display or a clear “last reviewed” date. A well-written guide on compound interest principles doesn’t become less accurate with age, but a prominent 2019 date might cause users to doubt it.
Seasonal content needs special handling. A “Best Winter Coats 2024” article should be updated annually with new products, not just a date change. The date is part of the promise: readers expect 2025’s version to include coats available now.
Product pages and pricing should always show last updated dates. Users need to know whether the price they’re seeing reflects current reality.
| Content Type | Publication Date | Last Updated | Update Frequency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Breaking news | Essential | N/A | Not applicable |
| Evergreen guides | Optional | Recommended | When substantively changed |
| Product reviews | Recommended | Essential | When products/prices change |
| YMYL content | Required | Required | Regular review cycle |
| Seasonal content | Embedded in title | Essential | Annual minimum |
The Dateless Content Strategy
Some content benefits from no visible date at all. This isn’t about hiding information; it’s about preventing artificial obsolescence signals on content that doesn’t age.
A Nashville marketing agency tested this with their core service pages. Pages describing their SEO audit process had prominent dates that made the content feel dated even when the process remained current. Removing visible dates (while keeping schema markup for crawl context) reduced bounce rates by 18% on those pages.
Candidates for dateless display:
- Service descriptions
- Company information
- Foundational concept explanations
- Timeless creative content
This approach works poorly for anything readers might reasonably want to date-check: statistics, product information, medical advice, legal guidance, or any content making claims about current conditions.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Fake freshness. Updating dates without updating content erodes Google’s trust in your signals. Sites that do this systematically often find their legitimate updates ignored.
Date in URL. Avoid structures like /2023/01/article-name/. This permanently stamps a date on content even if you update it substantially. The URL becomes a liability when the content outlives its original publication year.
Refresh vs. real update. Minor edits don’t warrant new update dates. If you’re not comfortable writing “What’s new in this update” and listing meaningful changes, the update isn’t substantial enough to claim freshness.
Inconsistent signals. Your visible date, schema markup, and HTTP Last-Modified header should align. Conflicts prompt Google to make its own determination, which may not favor you.
YMYL date hiding. Never hide dates on health, financial, or legal content. Even if you update the information regularly, readers need date visibility to make informed decisions about trusting your advice.
Measuring Freshness Impact
Tracking date signal effectiveness requires isolating the variable from other changes. If you update content and change dates simultaneously, you won’t know which factor drove any performance changes.
Metrics to monitor:
- Click-through rates for date-visible search snippets
- Ranking changes for queries with freshness intent
- Google Search Console’s “Last crawled” data
- Coverage report for indexing patterns post-update
For A/B testing approaches, consider updating half of similar articles with new content and dates while updating the other half with content only (keeping original dates). Compare performance over 60 to 90 days to isolate date signal impact.
Note that freshness impact varies dramatically by query type. Informational queries about static facts (“what is compound interest”) show minimal freshness influence, while queries about ongoing situations (“best SEO practices”) heavily favor recent content.
Putting It Together
Effective date signal management comes down to consistency and honesty. Display dates that help users assess content relevance. Update those dates only when you’ve made changes users would consider meaningful. Implement schema that accurately reflects your visible content.
For most sites, this means:
- Show publication dates on news, blogs, and YMYL content
- Add last updated dates when content receives meaningful updates
- Implement Article schema with accurate datePublished and dateModified
- Consider dateless approaches only for truly evergreen service and concept pages
- Never manipulate dates hoping to game freshness signals
The sites that struggle with date signals are usually those trying to appear fresher than they are. The sites that benefit are those whose signals accurately reflect genuine content maintenance.
Sources
- Google Search Central: Article structured data guidelines
https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/structured-data/article
- Google Search Central: Publication dates best practices
https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2019/09/more-controls-on-search
- Schema.org: Article type documentation
Note: Date handling recommendations reflect Google’s documented guidance and observed ranking patterns through early 2025. Search systems evolve, and strategies should be verified against current documentation.