Maintain fresh, accurate date metadata reflecting real content updates.
- Maintain fresh, accurate date metadata reflecting real content updates1 cited source2 categories
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Why this matters
AI models reward genuinely updated content; false freshness signals by cosmetic date changes degrade trustworthiness.
Hypothetical standard operating procedure
Adapt this example to your site, access, tools, and change process. It is our suggested procedure, informed by the sources below.
- Add visible published and last updated timestamps on page.
- Update dateModified property in Article or WebPage schema only when content materially changes.
- Send accurate HTTP Last-Modified headers matching content updates.
- Avoid changing dates for cosmetic edits or styling alone.
- Review update cadence at least quarterly for competitive topics.
Watch for
Falsely updated dates can be detected and ignored, hurting AI citation chances.
Definition of done
Visible published and updated dates on page accurately reflect significant content changes; schema dateModified matches.
Sources & attribution
Original checklist wording and example SOP by Best SEO Checklist, using source-grounded AI assistance. Editorial contact: Ted Kubaitis, @tedkubaitis on Teams. Check current source guidance before implementation.