Yes, a blog post should carry a visible date, and for revised posts, an honest «Updated on» as well. Google recommends a clearly identifiable date and uses it to assess how current a page is; AI assistants that search the web live also prefer sources that visibly look current. Removing the date to make an old post look newer costs you trust with readers and gains you nothing with Google.
Many businesses remove the date from their blog because they fear old posts will put readers off. The opposite is true. A post without a date looks like someone is trying to hide something, and that's exactly what readers then suspect. The better solution is a date that's accurate, plus upkeep that keeps it honestly current.
What Google says about dates
Google's documentation describes how it determines a page's date and which signals it uses for this. The key points, summarised:
- The date should be visible on the page, in a place that clearly belongs to the content, for example below the title.
- It can also be included in structured data, as
datePublishedanddateModifiedaccording to schema.org. Both should match what's visible on the page. - For significant changes, the update date may and should be set. However, Google advises against artificially refreshing dates when the content hasn't changed significantly.
- Google uses several factors to determine the date, not just one. Conflicting information on the same page makes the assessment unreliable.
In practice, this means: a visible publication date, a visible update date for revisions, and both present in the source code too, without contradiction.
Why the date matters to Google
Google shows a date next to many posts in search results. For searchers, this is a deciding factor before they click: for a search like «heat pump subsidy Thurgau», hardly anyone chooses the result from 2022 when one from 2026 is right next to it. A missing date doesn't make Google treat the post as new; instead, Google estimates the date from other signals, such as the first crawl or dates mentioned in the text. The result is often less accurate than stating it yourself.
For time-sensitive searches, Google weighs recency more heavily than for timeless ones. A post about tax deadlines needs a current date because the search itself calls for up-to-date information. A post about caring for solid wood doesn't need one as urgently, but it should still carry a date so readers can judge how old the advice is.
Why the date matters in AI answers
AI assistants like ChatGPT with web search or Perplexity pull sources live from the web and display them with source details. Based on our own observations, for questions with a time element, sources with a recognisable date that don't look outdated tend to be favoured. This isn't confirmed by the providers as an actual rule. What can be said is this: a page without a date gives the system no way to judge whether the information still holds, and a page with a clearly old date and no update notice signals that nobody is maintaining it. Neither speaks in favour of the source.
Using «Updated on» honestly
The update date is only worth as much as the change behind it. Three examples:
| Change | Set the date? | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Typo corrected, image swapped | No | Nothing has changed for the reader |
| Price example updated to 2026, a section on the new subsidy scheme added | Yes | The answer is different from before |
| Whole post revised, structure overhauled, recommendation changed | Yes | Significant change |
If you set «Updated on», you should also show in the post what's changed, for example with a short note at the start: «As of October 2026: price examples and subsidy details updated.» This makes the date credible and saves readers from wondering whether it's worth reading again. When a revision is worthwhile and how to approach it is covered under Updating old blog posts.
When a date genuinely puts readers off
There is one case where the date really does put people off: when the post is outdated and the date gives it away. The solution then isn't to hide the date, but to revise the post or, if it's no longer accurate, delete it and redirect to a current one. A blog with 40 posts, 30 of which date from 2021 and were never updated, doesn't have a date problem. It has a maintenance problem.
Posts intended to stay relevant long-term can be set up with that in mind. What defines such evergreen content and how to maintain it is covered in the glossary entry.
What to do with this
Show the publication date below the title on every post. For significant revisions, set an update date and state what's changed. Once a year, review the posts with the oldest dates: update, merge or redirect them. Then the date isn't a risk, it's a trust signal.
Frequently asked questions
Does an old date hurt rankings?
Not directly. Google assesses whether the content answers the question, and only factors in recency where it's relevant to the search, for example for prices, regulations or technology. A post from 2023 about caring for oak parquet isn't outdated. A post from 2023 about heat pump subsidies probably is, and readers will notice that too, not just Google.
Can I change the date if I'm only correcting a typo?
Besser nicht. Google rät ausdrücklich davon ab, Datumsangaben ohne wesentliche Änderung zu erneuern. Ein «Aktualisiert am» ist dann angebracht, wenn Zahlen, Empfehlungen oder Abschnitte überarbeitet wurden. Wer bei jeder Kleinigkeit das Datum setzt, entwertet die Angabe für Leser und läuft Gefahr, dass Google die Angabe ignoriert.
Soll das Datum oben oder unten am Beitrag stehen?
Oben, in der Nähe des Titels, wo Leser es erwarten. Google empfiehlt, das Datum sichtbar und eindeutig zu platzieren, damit es dem Inhalt zugeordnet werden kann. Ein Datum, das nur im Quellcode steht oder irgendwo in der Fusszeile, hilft weder Lesern noch der Suchmaschine.
Was ist mit zeitlosen Beiträgen?
Auch sie tragen ein Datum. Zeitlos heisst, dass der Inhalt lange gültig bleibt, nicht, dass sein Alter geheim sein muss. Wer alle zwölf bis achtzehn Monate prüft, ob der Beitrag noch stimmt, und bei Bedarf ein «Aktualisiert am» setzt, zeigt Lesern, dass sich jemand kümmert. Das wirkt stärker als ein fehlendes Datum.