As we have now been online for a couple of years we have many posts that are starting to look a bit "out-of-date". I read that it is possible to have Google search results display the most recent date that a post was updated, rather than the date it was published.
For example, this post https://housesittingmagazine.com/house-sitting-websites-compared/ was published in June 2016, but is regularly updated with new info. In fact it has just been updated again today. It has been slipping down the ranks, from the #1 spot, and we think Google's "freshness" algorithm may be working against us.
I have managed to display updated dates details, but can't figure out how to get Google to see this. The post suggests replacing the themes default date settings, but I can't find this in Soledad.
Yes, I understand that Google knows about both the "published date" an the "updated date". However, what I am trying to achieve is have Google display the updated date, not the original published date.
When search results display, a reader is much more likely to pick an article dated 2018 than one dated 2016. Many of our articles are updated regularly to keep content up-to-date. It is possible to do this, as many other sites do it.
The relevant section begins here: "New Dates Method, Readers, and Search Engines
I realized that my problem was not with dates. It was with “published date”feature because it didn’t accurately reflect the amount of work I put into the site...."
An article dated 2016 won't compete well with one dated 2018 in terms of click-through, regardless of search position.
Is there nowhere in post templates where this can be modified?
Alternatively, iIs there any way I can remove the date completely then...? I think no date showing on Google is better than a date from a couple of years ago.
This would be a really useful feature - showing updated date instead of published date, and I encourage you to add it as soon as possible. It would REALLY help our business very much.
Hi there,
As we have now been online for a couple of years we have many posts that are starting to look a bit "out-of-date". I read that it is possible to have Google search results display the most recent date that a post was updated, rather than the date it was published.
For example, this post
https://housesittingmagazine.com/house-sitting-websites-compared/
was published in June 2016, but is regularly updated with new info. In fact it has just been updated again today. It has been slipping down the ranks, from the #1 spot, and we think Google's "freshness" algorithm may be working against us.
This post
https://www.wpbeginner.com/opinion/why-you-should-not-remove-dates-from-your-wordpress-blog-posts/
suggests giving Google the "updated date" rather than the "published date" which would be great for our posts.
I have managed to display updated dates details, but can't figure out how to get Google to see this. The post suggests replacing the themes default date settings, but I can't find this in Soledad.
Any help would be much appreciated.
Many thanks,
Ian
Hi,
That doesn't affect anything to your ranking on google.
As you can check here for example:
https://search.google.com/structured-data/testing-tool?hl=en#url=https%3A%2F%2Fhousesittingmagazine.com%2Fhouse-sitting-llamas-alpacas%2F
Click on "Hentry" and you can see information for your posts - and you can see the data for updated posts already appears: http://prntscr.com/l2rxul
So, google know you always update your posts
And it will get better ranking - not lower
Best Regards,
PenciDesign
Hi there,
Thanks for the reply.
Yes, I understand that Google knows about both the "published date" an the "updated date". However, what I am trying to achieve is have Google display the updated date, not the original published date.
When search results display, a reader is much more likely to pick an article dated 2018 than one dated 2016. Many of our articles are updated regularly to keep content up-to-date. It is possible to do this, as many other sites do it.
Please see the article I referenced in the original post for full details:
https://www.wpbeginner.com/opinion/why-you-should-not-remove-dates-from-your-wordpress-blog-posts/
The relevant section begins here:
"New Dates Method, Readers, and Search Engines
I realized that my problem was not with dates. It was with “published date”feature because it didn’t accurately reflect the amount of work I put into the site...."
An article dated 2016 won't compete well with one dated 2018 in terms of click-through, regardless of search position.
Many thanks,
Ian
Hi,
Yeah, unfortunately, currently this theme doesn't support this feature.
We will consider to add more this feature in the next update version - please wait for it
Best Regards,
PenciDesign
Is there nowhere in post templates where this can be modified?
Alternatively, iIs there any way I can remove the date completely then...? I think no date showing on Google is better than a date from a couple of years ago.
This would be a really useful feature - showing updated date instead of published date, and I encourage you to add it as soon as possible. It would REALLY help our business very much.
Many thanks,
Ian
Hi,
Please open soledad/functions.php file and on line 2644, replace this code:
if ( ! function_exists( 'penci_soledad_time_link' ) ) : /** * Gets a nicely formatted string for the published date. */ function penci_soledad_time_link() { $time_string = '<time class="entry-date published updated" datetime="%1$s">%2$s</time>'; if ( get_the_time( 'U' ) !== get_the_modified_time( 'U' ) ) { $time_string = '<time class="entry-date published" datetime="%1$s">%2$s</time><time class="penci-hide-tagupdated updated" datetime="%3$s">%4$s</time>'; } printf( $time_string, get_the_date( DATE_W3C ), get_the_time( get_option('date_format') ), get_the_modified_date( DATE_W3C ), get_the_modified_date() ); } endif;To:
if ( ! function_exists( 'penci_soledad_time_link' ) ) : /** * Gets a nicely formatted string for the published date. */ function penci_soledad_time_link() { $time_string = '<time class="entry-date published updated" datetime="%1$s">%2$s</time>'; if ( get_the_time( 'U' ) !== get_the_modified_time( 'U' ) ) { $time_string = '<time class="entry-date published" datetime="%1$s">%2$s</time><time class="penci-hide-tagupdated updated" datetime="%3$s">%4$s</time>'; } printf( $time_string, get_the_modified_date( DATE_W3C ), get_the_modified_date(), get_the_modified_date( DATE_W3C ), get_the_modified_date() ); } endif;After modified that code, please clearly all the cache and wait google update it
And on the search results will display your modified date.
Hope this help,
Best Regards,
PenciDesign
Thank you very much.
I've added the code, and deleted cache.
Just got to wait for Google now.
I'll come back and report here if it is successful.
Many thanks once again, much appreciated.
Could I ask if this worked? I would like to do the same thing.
Hi CalculatedTraveller,
Yes, it worked.
This is the post we really needed this for, and as you can see it shows the latest "updated" date. Great!
https://housesittingmagazine.com/house-sitting-websites-compared/
Best wishes,
Ian