git:20260529.7c05904 to git:20261004.4b0ddb9

---

name: content-dates

description: "Use when auditing article or blog pages for date markup, generating Article JSON-LD with datePublished/dateModified, or checking whether a CMS template surfaces dates correctly."

metadata:

category: seo

priority: medium

difficulty: intermediate

estimatedTime: "10"

source: frontendchecklist.io

---

# Show published and updated dates

Google uses publication and modification dates to assess content freshness, which influences rankings for time-sensitive queries. Visible dates also build user trust by signalling that content is current and maintained.

## Quick Reference

- Include a visible published date and a `dateModified` in JSON-LD for every article or blog post

- Use ISO 8601 format (`2024-03-15T10:00:00Z`) in structured data; human-readable in the visible UI

- Update `dateModified` only when content meaningfully changes — not on trivial edits

## Check

On each article or blog page, check: (1) Is there a visible published date in the page body or byline? (2) Does the JSON-LD `Article` or `BlogPosting` block include `datePublished` and `dateModified` properties in ISO 8601 format? (3) Does the `<head>` include `<meta property="article:published_time">` and `<meta property="article:modified_time">` Open Graph tags?

## Fix

1. Add a visible publication date in the page byline: `<time datetime="2024-03-15">March 15, 2024</time>`.

2. Add `datePublished` and `dateModified` to the Article JSON-LD block:

```json

{

"@type": "Article",

"datePublished": "2024-03-15T10:00:00Z",

"dateModified": "2024-11-20T14:30:00Z"

}

```

3. Add Open Graph article time tags to `<head>`:

```html

<meta property="article:published_time" content="2024-03-15T10:00:00Z">

<meta property="article:modified_time" content="2024-11-20T14:30:00Z">

```

4. Ensure your CMS or build system updates `dateModified` automatically on content saves.

## Explain

Google's freshness algorithm rewards recently published or updated content for time-sensitive queries. Structured date markup lets Google confidently surface the correct date in search snippets; without it, Google must guess from page text or HTTP headers, often producing wrong or missing dates.

## Code Review

Verify that Article or BlogPosting JSON-LD includes both `datePublished` and `dateModified` in ISO 8601 format. Check that `<time datetime='...'>` elements in the body use machine-readable dates. Confirm `dateModified` updates when content changes, not just on every deploy.

---

For full implementation details, code examples, and framework-specific guidance,

see `references/rule.md`.