Content Freshness Audit
Fetch any sitemap (or paste a URL list) and audit content freshness across three signals: XML lastmod, HTTP Last-Modified, and dateModified in schema. Flags pages AI engines will deprioritise for recency-sensitive queries.
GEO Intelligence
LLMs weight recency hard for anything that could change: pricing, benchmarks, best-of lists, how-tos.
When ChatGPT or Perplexity needs a current answer they prefer content whose signals say "updated recently". If your sitemap lastmod says 2022, your HTTP Last-Modified says 2023, and your schema has no dateModified, the model has no reason to pick you over a fresher source. This audit flags gaps across all three.
Source
Frequently asked questions
Why do AI engines weight freshness?
Because many user prompts are time-sensitive: "best X in 2026", "current price of Y", "latest guidance on Z". The engine prefers sources whose freshness signals say "updated recently" over sources with no date signal at all.
Which three freshness signals matter?
XML sitemap
lastmod, HTTP Last-Modified header, and dateModified in schema.org JSON-LD. The three should agree. If any is missing, the engine has less confidence.Does updating a timestamp alone help?
Only if the content changed. Google penalises "date spoofing" (updated date with no content change). Change at least one meaningful section, then update the date.
What counts as "fresh"?
Content under 90 days old is treated as fresh. 90 to 365 days is mid. Over a year is stale for anything time-sensitive. Timeless content (history, definitions) doesn't have the same decay.
How do I set dateModified in schema?
Add
"dateModified": "2026-10-10" to Article, Product, or WebPage JSON-LD. The schema generators on this site do it automatically.My CMS doesn't update HTTP Last-Modified. Can I fix it?
Yes, usually at the CDN layer. Cloudflare, Fastly, and most WAFs let you inject or rewrite Last-Modified from a response header rule.
Does freshness matter for e-commerce product pages?
Yes, because AI engines use freshness to decide which "best X" results to cite. A product with a 2026 updated date beats a 2022 one on identical content.
What about evergreen content like definitions?
Freshness matters less. "What is marketing automation" doesn't decay the way "best marketing automation tool 2026" does. Update evergreen content when the field itself shifts.
How does Google handle updated content?
Google uses update detection to prioritise recrawling, and treats recently updated content more favourably on YMYL and time-sensitive queries. Separate from AI engines.
How often should I audit freshness?
Quarterly for high-value commercial content. Annually for everything else.
Does updated content need a changelog?
Not for schema, but adding a visible "Updated on" line in the article helps both users and search engines read your intent as transparent updating, not date spoofing.
Free · no account
SEORCE for Chrome, Edge and Firefox
Audits the page you are on: headings, meta tags, schema, indexability, and whether AI crawlers can read it. Export the result as a PDF. Free, with no account.
It audits one page at a time and does not track AI answers. About the extension
Where you stand in AI answers
This tool checks the inputs. AI Beacon shows the answers.
SEORCE AI Beacon tracks whether your brand is named and cited across 7 AI engines + Google AI Overview, AI Mode & Search. It shows the exact page behind each citation, and whether it was cited or only consulted.
3,000+ users · Free forever plan, no card needed