Myth: republishing with a new date helps you ride out updates

Myth: republishing with a new date helps you ride out updates
On the radar — the "just change the date" tactic after a ranking dip.

The correction
Google says freshness is query-dependent, and faking dates without real changes can erode trust signals.

Confirmed
— Search Central — Mueller has stated changing only the visible date, without updating content, doesn't help and may look manipulative.

Read this
— Search Engine Journal — explainer on Query Deserves Freshness, noting evergreen queries don't reward recency at all.

Chatter
— Search Engine Roundtable documents cases where date manipulation triggered scrutiny rather than lift.

The read: substantive updates can help on time-sensitive queries; a cosmetic date change rarely does.

One to bookmark: Search Central's guidance on dates and timestamps in Search.