Wordpress Old Articles date - Update or Not

[prozis]

Hey there!

Been reading around and I believe that there isn't a perfect answer to this question, but I surely want to know your opinion.

It's a fact that google likes new content but also updated content, so whats your position concerning the wordpress articles. Meaning, when I decide to update articles from 2011 on its content, should I also update the date?

If I make a search and an article from 2011 will be shown, its unlikely that I will click on it...

So that you can understand my point.

[Andy.Drinkwater]

Maybe I will leave the date as it was then...

Based on minimal changes, I would do this. A minimal update doesn't need to sit in the background though. Remember to get busy and let everyone know when you update something

-Andy

[prozis]

Yes, my only point is to tell user that it was updated and not being penalized by google.

Sometimes the changes are minimal, like in 2011 we recommended X and Y products and now we recommend the Z product because X and Y were discontinued.

Maybe I will leave the date as it was then...

[Andy.Drinkwater]

I would be tempted to add an 'updated' date and leave the original posted date in place. This way you satisfy both readers and Google.

The only time I would update the actual posted date, is if the article was very significantly different - to the point it wasn't that recognisable as what it used to be.

Get busy sharing the post socially again and make sure you advise people that it has been updated to reflect new data.

-Andy

[TomRayner]

If you do this - do it for the reader, not Google.

If the article has been refreshed with some great value and you think your audience would benefit from seeing it again, then I would update the date.  However, if you're trying to game Google by making out that the content/URL is new and fresh (by trying to take advantage of its freshness algorithm), not only would that be frowned upon, but I think I'm right in saying Google has clamped down on that effectiveness quite a lot since 2013.