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name: freshness description: "Use when auditing content pages for freshness signals, setting up HTTP Last-Modified headers in a web server config, or ensuring Article JSON-LD dateModified is updated when CMS content changes." metadata: category: seo priority: medium difficulty: intermediate estimatedTime: "10" source: frontendchecklist.io url: https://frontendchecklist.io/rules/seo/freshness

Show content freshness signals

Google's Query Deserves Freshness (QDF) algorithm boosts recent or recently updated content for time-sensitive queries. Missing or stale freshness signals mean your updated content competes without the freshness advantage it deserves.

Quick Reference

• Set the Last-Modified HTTP response header and include dateModified in Article JSON-LD on all content pages
• Update dateModified only when content substantively changes — trivial edits should not alter the date
• For time-sensitive topics (news, tutorials, product reviews), freshness directly influences Google's ranking of your content

Check

For each article or blog page: (1) Check the HTTP response Last-Modified header — is it set and recent? (2) Check the JSON-LD for a dateModified property in ISO 8601 format. (3) Is a visible 'Last updated' date shown to users? (4) Is the dateModified in JSON-LD consistent with the visible date and the Last-Modified header?

Fix

1. Configure your web server to send Last-Modified headers based on the file modification time:
   • Nginx: add_header Last-Modified $date_gmt;
   • Apache: ensure mod_headers is enabled; static files serve Last-Modified automatically.
2. Update Article JSON-LD to include dateModified:

   { "@type": "Article", "dateModified": "2024-11-20T14:30:00Z" }
   

3. Add a visible "Last updated" date to the article template.
4. Hook your CMS to update dateModified only when content is substantively changed (not on metadata-only saves).
5. If using a static site generator (Next.js, Astro), pass the frontmatter updatedAt field through to the JSON-LD and <time> elements.

Explain

Google's freshness algorithm (QDF — Query Deserves Freshness) actively boosts recently published or updated content for searches where recency matters. If your dateModified is stale or absent, Google may not credit your content with the freshness it deserves, ranking older competitors above you even after you have updated the article.

Code Review

Check that the Last-Modified response header is present on article pages. Verify Article JSON-LD includes dateModified in ISO 8601 format. Confirm that the build or deployment system updates dateModified only for content files that actually changed — not a blanket timestamp update on all pages during deploy.

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For full implementation details, code examples, and framework-specific guidance, see references/rule.md.

Rule page: https://frontendchecklist.io/rules/seo/freshness