Content Freshness Checker

Free Content Freshness Checker - Check Last Updated Date & SEO Freshness Signals

Use our free Content Freshness Checker to detect how recently a webpage was updated and how clearly it communicates freshness to search engines. The tool scans multiple freshness signals including HTTP Last-Modified headers, meta tags (article:modified_time, published_time), JSON-LD schema (datePublished, dateModified), and visible 'Last updated' text. Get a freshness score, confidence level, and actionable recommendations to improve SEO freshness signals for blogs, landing pages, guides, and evergreen content.

What is Content Freshness in SEO?

Content freshness refers to how recently a page was updated and how accurately a website communicates that update to users and search engines. Freshness is especially important for time-sensitive topics (news, product changes, pricing, policies, statistics, SEO tactics, tool guides). Search engines may reward recently updated pages when the query has freshness intent, and users are more likely to trust content that shows clear published and updated dates.

What This Tool Checks

The Content Freshness Checker looks for several types of date signals. Some sites provide strong structured signals, while others hide or omit dates entirely.

• HTTP headers like Last-Modified that indicate when the server believes the page changed
• Meta tags such as article:modified_time and article:published_time used by many CMS themes
• JSON-LD schema dates like datePublished and dateModified (recommended for reliability)
• Visible text patterns such as “Last updated: January 12, 2026” or “Published on 2024-09-03”
• Conflicting signals (e.g., published date newer than updated date) that reduce confidence

How to Use the Content Freshness Checker

Run a scan in seconds and use the output to improve both content and on-page freshness signals.

• Enter the exact URL you want to check (article, guide, landing page, documentation page)
• Select expected update frequency (weekly, monthly, quarterly, yearly, evergreen)
• Review the Freshness Score and rating (Fresh, Recent, Aging, Stale)
• Check confidence level (High/Medium/Low) based on how reliable the detected signals are
• Use recommendations to add schema, show visible updated dates, and refresh key sections

How to Improve Freshness Signals

If your page is updated but search engines can’t detect it clearly, you may not get full SEO benefit. The best approach is combining real content updates with structured signals.

• Add JSON-LD Article or BlogPosting schema and include both datePublished and dateModified
• Display a visible “Last updated” line near the title (especially for guides and evergreen posts)
• Update outdated stats, screenshots, product steps, tool instructions, and internal links
• Avoid fake freshness—updating only the date without improving the content can hurt trust
• If dates are intentionally hidden (some brands do this), ensure schema still provides accurate dates

Pro Tip

Freshness is not only about dates—it's about usefulness today. When you update content, focus on what changed in the real world: new steps, new tool screenshots, updated recommendations, updated FAQs, and updated internal links. Then make sure your page outputs clear signals (schema + visible updated date) so both users and search engines understand the update.

FAQ

Related tools

Pro tip: pair this tool with Content Cannibalization Checker and Word & Character Counter for a faster SEO workflow.

• Content Cannibalization Checker — Detect keyword overlap and SEO cannibalization between multiple pages on the same site.
• Word & Character Counter — Count words, characters, sentences, and paragraphs in text.
• Keyword Density Checker — Check keyword frequency and density in your content.
• Readability Score Calculator — Calculate Flesch Reading Ease score for content.
• Text Case Converter — Convert text to uppercase, lowercase, title case, or sentence case.