Why You Should NOT Remove Date on Blog Posts!
Monday, February 5, 2018
Dear Readers,
We like to inform you about an often asked question and advise you why you should NOT remove date on blog posts! The same is for Comments!
- Do you appreciate your readers?
- Do you want to help people?
- How do you think it looks like when you remove your blog post dates?
- Is that honest? No, it is not, and goes even against Wealthy Affiliate's teachings to help people and gain their trust!
Removing blog post dates is misguiding your readers or causing even more confusion, because your readers didn't know that they were reading an older tutorial / outdated content.
Over longer time you will hurt your business with your so called "Green Content Philosophy".
So you think you can outsmart Google Search Engine? Think again! You probably already submitted your Sitemap to Google, right? Well guess what, your publishing dates are in there! How trustworthy is that to remove them from your site, Google will notice....
How can you ever trust a website with no content dates? Ask yourselves, why would someone remove the date? That is not trustworthy, and from my site I can tell you, I will not trust your website as there is a big chance I am reading outdated content and that is not helping me, I will leave your website and visit someones who has the accurate date.
Another example: over time your view on how something should be done changes, but if you have no dates on your articles, how do you even want to explain that to your readers? You will contradict your own articles. Now with a date people see the change, you can even make use of internal links and informing your readers that you wrote an update on your article. That makes sense.
If you have outdated content here is what you do:
You do research and you look what changed, then you refresh and update your content, that is honest and shows your readers that you care about them.
And this is what you do after you updated your content:
WordPress has the ability to show “last updated date” as publishing date and that is what you select after you refreshed your article.
You can use this free plugin from the official WordPress website:
Last Modified Timestamp (last update was 3 months ago)
https://wordpress.org/plugins/...
Conclusion:
If you truly value your readers, then do NOT remove date on blog posts nor comments! Instead: write updates, refresh your content!
It would not surprise me if Google will penalize not dated content one day in their new algorithm as it is deceiving visitors, many will loose their hard gained rankings in the wink of an eye, do you really want to risk that....?
Leave your comments and thoughts below.
ToLiNoLi
Stefan
Recent Comments
154
This was the post Patsy deleted after I requested her to remove some inappropriate content.
As it is an essential part of this discussion I will only post the relevant data to this article here, what are her standpoints and what are mine about this topic and the conclusion. I had to adapt some of the content.
Patsy's statements:
The setting to remove the dates from the pages and posts is in the WordPress settings, if it was such a bad thing it wouldn't be there.
I have an evergreen website. No dates are necessary. Women and men's bags won't expire and either will the content I wrote.
It s a known fact that when someone sees an outdated post they move on. How many members go back into edit and change the date there? There are different reasons to keep the dates so it's up to the individual. We all have our reasons for not wanting dates on our comments and there is nothing wrong with doing this.
My Statements:
Let anyone decide for themselves what is the best way, but show them what are the do's and don'ts based on good online research done before. I found on my research why you should not remove the dates and stated them here in my article. From customer view what makes sense. It can't be too much asked that we update our content and then publish it with a newer date in fairness and trust to the customers, instead of just removing it.
Example: A customer could get the wrong information by reading an article without a date and believes a product is still in fashion and buys it, then discovers the product is not todays fashion but already out there for some years, how will the customer react?
Customer is King, always was and always is!
Seen our statements here, conclusion:
it very much depends on the products and content and anyone must decide for themselves if the content can be classified as Evergreen. If you decide for, know it is good for your SEO ranking, if you value your customers, know to present them actual and not outdated data, then it is a win for both.
Older content may however not getting read, so update if you can, and time permits.
So both decisions have cons and negs, carefully weight off what is appropriate for you and your customers.
Thank you all for your inputs and trying to figure out the appropriate decision to take into this.
Happy Affiliation to all of you.
Stefan
Totally agree and that's why I decided to include the published date along with the amended date.
The exception to this rule obviously are evergreen articles.
Whenever I am researching and don't find dates I am inclined to come out of the site.
Mind you many people I see including members here at WA and who are successful don't show dates at all!
I guess that when you have several hundred articles there is no way that you can amend many of those posts.
Mick
I didn't know the option was in wordpress settings, I downloaded a plugin for one of mine. I will check your post.
Hi Mick,
Thank you for your opinion to this. The question really is what is Evergreen and what not, secondly how does your customer see it? That is even the bigger question as we always think what we think.
I suggest you ask people you know or here in the discussion if your content could be evergreen. As you know by now, many ignore postings with no dates at all. So a date should be visible if you want to reach everyone. (more customers more chance in sales) So yes you can be successful, but ever thought about it how much more successful you could be with the date included?
We should always try to see it from customers view and on hand of that information make our decision.
Thank you and if you like me to do a review of your content for Evergreenes let me know, I will give you my honest opinion as a customer.
Stefan :)
Agreed. I am never going to care what the date stamp is on a dessert recipe blog, and if the first article I stumble upon in such a blog happens to be 12 years old, I will not care to know it.
A desert recipe blog? :)) I did not even know they exist, at least I never saw one lol :)) Who is even reading those? :))
Meeeeee! I am a passionate cook and love great food writing. And these are people who have the magical power of actually being able to get me to BUY STUFF. Without hesitation.
A new wooden paddle for handmade gnocchi? Done.
A plastic mould for zombie brain jelly? Yes.
Ox tail? Tripe? Salmon belly offcuts? I have purchased all this and more, simply reading food recipe blogs.
Dang, I even bought a new electric spiraliser just a few days ago, I got so excited about trying a new version of a Thai green paw paw recipe.
The funny thing is, my fave food blogs don’t actually sell those products on site, although they make use of them. I source the products elsewhere. The blogs seem to be running from a different business model. One lady in Sydney, has just such food blog which I love. I really enjoy cooking her recipes. Would buy anything she offered. All her recipes are evergreen, FWIW.
Hi Stefan, thanks for that.
I struggled with the dates scenario, whether to include or not simply because you see successful people, especially here at WA who do not show dates.
I suppose really what we declare as evergreen may or may not be evergreen, and if we are saying that evergreen articles will not change, then that is surely incorrect because everything does change at some point.
I will surely take you up on reviewing what I declare as evergreen articles.
Cheers
Mick
Hi Stefan, thanks for that.
I struggled with the dates scenario, whether to include or not simply because you see successful people, especially here at WA who do not show dates.
I suppose really what we declare as evergreen may or may not be evergreen, and if we are saying that evergreen articles will not change, then that is surely incorrect because everything does change at some point.
I will surely take you up on reviewing what I declare as evergreen articles.
Cheers
Mick
Agreed that it may not be THAT relevant on a recipe blog - but I still want a date on there, because if the recipe calls for 2 tablespoons of "margarine" - I am going to look at the date of the recipe. And depending on THAT, I will decide whether I think I can substitute it with real butter, or olive oil or coconut oil, or whether I should search for another recipe.
I will try to make a judgement about how important it is to use THAT SPECIFIC ingredient, as to how informed I think the person was about new research and the latest studies and/or whether it is possible to use a substitute.
If it states that it is her Mom's recipe that she enjoyed since childhood - I can probably judge the time in which the recipe was relevant - but else I prefer to see a date of when it was published.
And sometimes it is just pure nice to see that a certain recipe (like for homemade chocolates) has been around for years - and to wonder under which rock I've been snoozing for only finding this recipe NOW! ;-) LOL! In this case, even that old date inspired me to read this person's other recipes, since she may have more yummy goodies that I definitely want to know about! ;-) Just think of all the yummy homemade chocolates that I have missed out on over the years! ;-) LOL!
We can't really guess how a visitor will react to something like a date - maybe if we put a poll on our website - but otherwise it is tainted to our believes. If WE believe a date is going to put visitors off - well, we will probably put out the energy vibes to attract those visitors that will be put-off by that - according to teachers like Louise Hay / Dr Wayne Dyer / Jack Canfield etc.
But yes, I love reading recipe books and recipe websites too! ;-) Don't bother to try and understand Stefan - that's "a women-thing" - as Hubby would say before moving on and leaving the topic behind! ;-) LOL!
Are recipes evergreen? What if an old recipe contains bad ingredients or if in the day today one of those ingredients changed into an altered state which could cause health risks and therefore has been updated with an alternative to still cook it in a safe way?
So I would be a bit careful with that, example if you use white sugar (praised in the past as the sweetener) we know today it is chemical processed and causes many illneses if you consume it.
An alternative can be honey (unprocessed and knowing the bees collect it from 100% unsprayed sources) or alternative plant sugars, do I need to go on?
Evergreen can bring many risks with it, just saying. Many things change over time. Now I do not want to spill your delicious hobby, Your family can be happy having such a wonderful cook, I love good food. :P
I just want to state that Evergreen should not be used in this context, or better not at all, at least that is my final verdict after so many discussions I had here with all our members here in this blog post.
What is a gnocchi btw? Sounds monstrous, will be good for a funny article in the future. :))
Happy cooking!
Stefan :))
Hi Mick,
Nowadays when you Google, did you see that half of the on page one hits have no date nor year? I think Google should really do something about it. How does it look like in search results if there are no dates at all anymore? Not to think off.
Looking forward to your articles Mick :)
Have a great weekend,
Stefan
Hi Mick,
This is what we call a DCR!
Double Content Reply!
Can a DCR be classified as Evergreen? LOL :)
Stefan
Thank you Sharlee,
Let me do the ice cream talking (and testing) for that matter... :P
Happy Ice Cream Eating!
Stefan :P
Stefan~
Content credibility is what keeps them coming back.....
.......or doesn't.
I'm pretty new to all of this, but I was thinking about time date credibility when I wrote my WA review for K's first SA week assignment. I really didn't know very much about reviews because I'd never written on. So I pulled a bunch down just to see what the heck kind of a document I was supposed to write, and I noticed a lot of reviews about WA were 5 and 6 years old. So above the first paragraph of my review, I put: Date Line.....January 2018. Now if I ever change it, I'll adjust my Date Line.
Am I doing it right?
~Wayne
Hi Wayne,
My tip: write your own experiences you have with WA inside your article, that makes it authentic.
Add the materials given to you to show what WA is.
And you got yourself a nice article.
My advise as I would do it, write a second article as a follow up and link it back. Internal links are good for SEO too and it shows you are updating your content this way.
Hope that helps.
Stefan :)
Thank you Stefan........yes, everything helps. And yes again........I wrote it as a retiree speaking to other retiree's, about extra retirement income via internet marketing, first learning with WA. My target audience is seniors wanting to make extra money......there's a lot of them (us).
I never thought about making an article out of it, but you're right it'll work. Thank you for the suggestion.
Wayne
That is so true, Stefan! When I go to a website and see a blog roll without publishing dates, I tend to move on because I sense that there may be a bit of dishonesty or that, maybe, 5 or 10 articles may have been slapped together hurriedly and thrown onto their website - which speaks to the lack of quality content.
If I see dates that show articles being published individually through time - every couple of days or so - it lends me to think that the author has at least taken some time to think through their content and they must have done at least some research.
Jim
Hi Jim,
Thank you for tuning in. Exactly I see it like that as well. Good Google knows your real dates from your Sitemap, if Google is smart they roll out a new Algorithm and all of this will have a quick end. :))
Let's see what 2018 will bring us.
Stefan :)
Great post. I like dated information. If there is a risk that I'm about to drink stale milk, I want to know.
I also like to have dates so I can understand the history of changes. Granted, I spend a lot of time working with the real estate market. Something that happened a year ago isn't as relevant as what happened last month. Yet, it is good to know what happened in the past.
Things in the technology, electronics, and online world change frequently. Look at all of the improvements in WA, for example. Dates help me inform my readers what things looked like at that point in time. Sorry if I'm preaching to choir here....
Hello Sondra,
Thank you :))
All your points are correct this is how life functions, now where would we people be without any dates on it? No history???
So let's keep it up for real and the general public, customers will follow us and know that we follow up on content past present and future.
Wishing you lot's of success along your journey and see you around!
Stefan :))
Hi Stefan!
Appreciate your research and presentation on the subject.
I personally include dates on my site but that's a matter of personal choice( because I want to present dates to my visitors).
It doesn't matter SEO-wise because Google, Yahoo/Bing etc are already aware of updated dates via sitemap.xml or hosting server.
For the visitor? Statistics have shown that visitors tend to click on recent results rather than older content. As you have suggested the way around this is to show the "Last updated date" on our posts and not necessarily hide it.
Having said all that, there are those who still don't want to display dates. This will never change. Does it affect rankings? Probably not, but over time (a long time), visitors already familiar with your site may avoid it because they may want to see dates on your posts for comparative purposes.
So the simple resolve is it all depends on my niche, visitors and what they are searching for.
Wikipedia's posts display "this post was last edited" on their posts but way down at the bottom (very end in small print). Completely out of sight (no pun intended) so I am fairly sure that they are not worried about whether I check how old their post is or not. They are an authority site and visitors will read their content anyway.
If I am looking for the meaning of a word on http://dictionary.com ...likewise. I am not looking at dates either.
David
Very well written David,
"So the simple resolve is it all depends on my niche, visitors and what they are searching for. "
Exactly, thanks for being here David! :))
Stefan
Well said David.
Even the meaning of words or how we use it, change over time... (whichever way you choose to view it). ;-)
I visited an elderly lady the other day and in conversation she quoted a poem in which the girls' heart was pounding because "this guy was so gay"... The gears in my time-machine was spinning I tell you, until I figured out (and she confirmed) that years ago (1940's / 50's), they used the word "gay", the same as we use the word "cool" today.
So maybe even dictionaries do need to give us date indications for the definitions that they offer! ;-) LOL!
Chocolate (Sharlee) IceCream ;-)
David - the perfect gentleman always! ;-)
Thank you David - "lots of ice cream" is always well received! ;-) LOL!
Hi Chocolate (Evergreen?),
Yup so what is newer Sharlee or Chocolate?
Word style is such a thing too. Grammatic and other word choice like slang is surely different as years ago. :)
So if I say chocolate to you now, will you be past present or future? 2D 3D 4D 5D? ;-) LOL
Stefan
LOL! You're overthinking it Stefan! ;-) LOL! Or maybe your wires are just overheating - some ice cream will help to cool you down! ;-) LOL!
I notice a lot of the successful bootcamp sites don't have dates. I did a post about this in the past, because I was wondering what motivated them all to do it and whether it could be risky in terms of google and ranking... doesn't seem to have harmed them though. I did remove the dates on one of my websites, but partially it's because the content is evergreen and I hadn't updated it in ages, so I didn't want people to be put off. It helped in that case.
If that is really that good, then tell me why Wealthy Affiliate is not doing it? Enough outdated learning materials here....
Is it too much to update content for you?
You can add a simple line: "after our research we did not find significant changes to current topic, however we like to inform you we care about our readers and will always do our best to keep our information accurate."
Then use the last publishing date.
And what impression does that give you as a reader? :))
PS: Google will change it's algorithm, it is Google's goal to improve user experience, so you are forewarned.... it sounds as laziness to me that you refuse to update old content and leave your visitors in limbo.... just my 2 cents to it, you are free to do what you think is right... ;)
this could be a good question to drop Kyle in the super affiliate training and then come back here and share with peeps what he says
Jay has a training on updating dates, if we could get his opinion too
right now I see diverse opinions on it, some pro sites don't have them and some do...
but it's an interesting question as to what google may or may not do and if someone has the hard facts on that?
Hi Nat, I agree.
I have evergreen content and the dates aren't needed.
Visitors judge when they see older dates and I did have a plugin to show the updated date, but when you open the article it showed the old date and it's confusing so it creates distrust.
I removed the plugin and went to the WordPress settings and adjusted it. Now my pages and posts don't have dates.
Hello Patsy,
It is sad to see here that you did not understand the message. This is not about you Patsy, we talk about the customer who should be our highest priority. And it is sad you are not taking your time to think what is important for your customer, nor that you even took the time to research this topic online, because if you would you would not come up with such answers.
Example: you are the customer
You visit a website with outdated information and based on that, because you believed the information was actually recent and not old, you took a decision that inclined you damages because of the decision you took based on this old information.
Can you see it now? Your thinking is wrong Patsy!
I understood the message.
I never thought it was about me?
Funny you would state that.
I do take the time to know what is important to my customer, you of all people should know that? You see my writing and how the quality is, and the help I provide so your statement there is so wrong.
You are not understanding, and many have agreed in the comments here. Evergreen content is the exception.
No, I can't see it now because I know what I am talking about.
It is a known fact that visitors judge and don't want to read something that 'looks' outdated to them.
When I go to a website, I do not judge according to the dates.
Other's will do this.
Erm.... I said that a lot of bootcamp affiliates do it. Not me. I DO have dates on my MAIN site.
One of my sites doesn't have dates... but it doesn't rely on google for a majority of traffic and It's not a review site or anything where the dates would be important.
I agree with you generally about the dates in general. Maybe I wasn't clear. But that's why I made a blog post a while back asking peoples opinion about dates on websites.
Personally, I find it frustrating looking for a review and not being able to see the date or when it was written and I'd often wondered how it could potentially effect their rankings down the road etc...
My point was, just that I've noticed a lot of successful WA sites don't have dates. I had been wondering about it and it would be good to hear their opinion from them.
Hi Patsy - thanks, I just replied. I only just saw this. I have a a site with no dates, because it helped. I've barely touched it in a year lol - yet the content could be as current today as it was then.
However, my main review site does have dates and I do find it annoying when I can't see dates on review sites.
That being said, I do still feel frustrated by the fact that some older posts are completely relevant today and may be overlooked and deemed out of date.
I tried the plugin mentioned as well, that came up with an updated date. I didn't really like it, so I took it off. So, now I'm not sure lol.
Just updating the post and writing "updated post," obv isn't enough - because it's the date that shows in the search results.
That's the main issue I think - when people see the date in the search result and then won't click. I can understand that it could potentially improve CTR removing dates.
Do you think it helped you?
Hi Nat, you are welcome.
My website is like your's so it's great :)
I've tried the plugin and didn't like it.
In WordPress I adjusted it to remove the dates so this is recent.
We have to do what's best for our websites and the visitor. Both are important. If someone is interested they won't care about dates others will and both are fine.
Yes exactly Patsy! Thanks I will check out how to change them in wordpress ... will be one less plugin lol
Alright, I understand you now, thank you for clarifying. :)
It is a Grey area, while it can work with some content, not all content neither.
So it depends on what writer and the reader can agree on what is Evergreen and the trust of the writer.
Now if you have your followers and they know you are reliable for your content and how you post it, then you should be fine for those readers. :)
Trying to think if I could have Evergreen content, I am afraid not :O
Thank you for being thoughtful on this. :)
Hi Patsy,
Thank you for removing your inappropriate content, a simple edit of your blog post would have been sufficient btw, now you removed all those blogs, including mine with useful content from both of us.
I will up-work what you deleted and state my view as well as you removed it and that was not correct. Without this information it looks like we never had a discussion about this at all. So in all fairness I will repost the relevant and useful content about it.
Thank you Patsy :)
Hello Mary,
Thank you for passing and yes it can make sense to get the experts opinion on it. I always believe that the customer is king and should come at first place and on hand of that we build out our brand.
I appreciate your inputs. Seeing you around. :)
Stefan
That is interesting and very important point to keep alive your ranking in SERP. When we heard about Panda or Penguin it is really matter of concern. We should watch out and take care as you are upto the norms of Google or not. Google has already going to start a new algorithm from July 2018 on Site Speed. Those websites which have low site will thrown to the bottom. Thanks for post and remainding us.
Hmmm. Some very passionately-held views, there Stefan!
I appreciate dates on some kinds of writing, but not all. I’m just as often indifferent to it. An essayist writing about the campaigns of the Roman generals; the only dates that matter to me are in the history lesson. Some of the most accurate and in-depth books I have are also the oldest on the shelf. They need no update.
But for a product review or advice on available services - then I actively seek the date out and compare. I don’t like being stiffed with old info and do a lot of comparing and checking of the currency of what I’m reading. I get annoyed when journos recycle years-old content and peddle it with new announcements!
As a serious business, we need to look into what is the right thing to do to build a long-lasting relationship with our customers.
Even a book needs a creation date, don't tell me your books don't have creation dates....
And history changes as well over time and will be updated with newer dates....
Update your posts and you are in for a newer date. Can't be that difficult. :)
Are we all happy with outdated content? Does Wealthy Affiliate remove dates from their website, content, trainings? No, I didn't think so. :)
So should you?
No, ask Kyle what he thinks... :))
Anyway, thank you for your inputs Ivy. :)
Yes, without flogging a dead-horse on this idea, some kinds of content benefit from time stamps. And I check for them. What is the currency of this information? Sometimes it really matters.
But there are still other kinds of content, where no, I am utterly indifferent. I don't check the date, I don't care what the date is, I don't care when it was published. Situations where I'm the customer, and I'm deciding I don't care about dates.
There is a certain blogger (an Australian writer in Berlin whose work I adore) who comes immediately to mind when dateless content comes to mind.
There is a bit of a needless frisson in this comments section, don't you think?
There are 101 ways that customers are being deceived online every day. Dates are the least of it. It might be a bit harsh my darling Stefan, to suggest that we don't value our readers if they make this trite decision. The internet is filled with so much superficial gumpf, none of which will be improved by adding time stamps. ;)
Hi Yvi,
The question is, should you too? Should you be like those others doing it too? As that cannot be the reason. Unless as you said you utterly don't care about it.
Coming from the Sales Industry as well, Customer care is a big thing if you want to build a long lasting relationship with any customer for that speaking.
Now it will be nice if you can give us a link or an example where you believe dates are irrelevant concerning the content.
Let's discuss :)
Stefan... I date my posts. There's no need to take an accusative tone.
I'm not offering you another way to see things from the perspective of business here, I'm just telling you that as a reader, when I'm taking time off the serious reading I do for a living, there are plenty of times _I personally don't care_ about the date at all. I don't even look for it.
Whether you or I deem it necessary or not in our own business to date articles, doesn't diminish the point that there are many readers who, like me on a Sunday afternoon light reading jaunt, just won't care. Like here:
http://www.authormedia.com/
https://doncrowther.com/
But this is by the by. I've offered you a glimpse of my hopeless leisure-time surfing habits in response to your invitation to put ourselves in the readers' shoes. I'm a reader too. So think of me also, when you're making blog decisions. I don't judge 'n.d.' as harshly as I do rubbish content. ;)
Let's also consider some of the ideas offered by various WAers in this thread. Some say they have content that attracts customers who don't care about dates. Perhaps they know they customers well-enough to be right about this? And some have observed a fall in their rankings after adding dates - to which you've observed that user experience matters more than rankings. All fair comments.
Consider perhaps, this middle-ground:
https://www.shoutmeloud.com/effect-of-showing-date-stamp-on-blog-traffic-case-study.html
After finding that:
1. Dates adversely affected ranking but;
2. Lack of dates adversely affected user experience;
this writer suggests a method by which only readers (not search engines) can view dates. Surely this is a happy medium?
I don't and if it sounded like I did I apologize Ivy. :)
Just trying to figure out to see and understand your side to it, as it counts and can help us to understand, I may learn something too you know, so never give up on that. :)
I like to consider perhaps, that is why it is important we can share our experiences here and learn from it.
I like the last solution, that is a possible way that may work.
Website one: would confuse me seeing 2015, 2016 and 2018 appearing in some headers, there exactly there I cannot be sure if this is a 2018 or older article, so maybe I am wasting my time reading worthless content.
Website two: could work, but the question remains, is the content still reliable to nowadays practices, if yes, then I think it is ok, that will also mean once you know that is the case, you accept the website as a resourceful place to get your information from.
Finding those places is the problem, as not all are reliable and therefore if you got once burned by reading outdated information you won't trust another one just like that.
So on one hand you are right, but on the other hand not, it depends on who and how trustful someone is. It is a Grey area for both sides.
To find a middle way can work for all, the readers and the bloggers. I like SEO improvement, everyone likes I am sure about that, we just want to make sure it works honestly to the readers too.
So we have to decide one by one what can and cannot be Evergreen content.
Thank you for taking the time and to have this discussion as we all can understand and learn from it, me too. :)
Stefan
All good, Stefan. No worries.
I'm not sure whether you can accord a 'right' or 'wrong' to my personal reading habits. I want dates... and then I don't want them. It's entirely personal! There just happen to be times when I read for fun, and when I read for wages.
On being burnt, I've also seen bloggers discuss false time stamps. Misconceptions can be created in so many ways. Scammers and spammers in particular are excellent at offering mimicry of the elements we use to form personal site trust.
This small detail of the time stamp is I think, a topic that excites quite a bit of debate elsewhere online. People have strongly held positions based on their unique observations and experience. We can indeed learn from them, and each other. :)
I completely agree on this, we both want the same. In German they would say "Jein" which means yes and no at the same time.
I can also imagine that this whole story about content accuracy is not a discussion at all if you publish regularly useful new content, then there is enough to rank good for that you could perhaps create an area with Evergreen content but state it as such.
That is upright and should work in both directions and we still have active new content posted.
What do you think Ivy, Evergreen Category Header? :)
Haaaa. in Australia we've inherited a curious habit from the Brits of answering: yeah, but nah, but yeah. Are we actually agreeing or disagreeing? It depends, LOL.
Yes, if your content is whizz-bang special, you needn't appeal to its worth with something as superficial as a date, right? Even good advice which has been superseded still contains the DNA of good advice, and enough to be of persisting value.
What kinds of categories work in this instance depend upon your content. I like the idea of a fast-moving 'news' area which dates quickly, in comparison to your more long-lasting content. I guess it's up to site owners to be responsive to what their readers tell them they need and prefer, and to make adjustments as they go along.
Oh Germany. I was there last in 2010, on a DAAD scholarship. They were so generous! Never any 'jein' where the hospitality was concerned. :)
Hi Ivy,
Dates are and will remain a part of a blog post and products and should be mentioned. My final 2 cents to it. Now as a marketer off course a better ranking is cool, but it is not customer oriented thinking.
Did you know that Google said this is a bad thing and they will penalize you for it, I read that for what to look out for in 2018! I am curious now what Google will do to penalize those who are not in line with their regulations, will we see a new Algorithm update in 2018?
Google sees it now as cheating, so don't get caught!
Happy Affiliating!
Stefan
See more comments
Great post and thanks for bringing up something that I normally take for granted -- that there are dates on posts that I read. If I come across a site without dates, I cannot verify the relevance of what I am reading, and will go to the next website. Not that the date itself verifies the validity of a post, but it helps to position it as something relevant and timely. The content is another story.
Thanks for a great eye-opener...!
Hi Amy, exactly I completely agree.
This topic is interesting, on the one hand, SEO cheating with Google (well I think it is, as it is only done to improve SEO ranking, if there would not be a SEO ranking improvement to gain there would not be a discussion on it either so yeah it sounds good, but it is not user friendly and that is something Google announced big time for 2018 starting on mobile devices concerning speed, surely more to come as always)
I am often a customer when I go on searches and I do not read posts without a date as I am looking for a specific date or year. Well many like me are thinking that and so it is important that every marketer knows the consequences of his her actions. Do you care about your customers, then first think analyze as a customer before you act.
Now if products can be Evergreens, possible? Let me think, perhaps an old light bulb, the older model, surely today nor 5 years ago any changes in its fabrication, that can make sense. For real topics this looks very different as every day our history and future changes, especially technology changes faster as 20 years ago, so what you write today can be old tomorrow.
Therefore we should take care of this and think if content can be Evergreen, and can it not be updated at least, so the customer sees you took the time to review the content for them. That will create trust I think and when you have done so, no need to remove the date, as old to new date shows you updated it, then build internal links, that is good for SEO too as Jay always mentions in his Webinars.
I think it should be our goal to build trust with our customers to take them on board with use on a long time period, so they come back and buy through us.
Thank you for coming here and take part in this so well important topic.
Stefan
Hi Stefan
Some very valid points, but as you rightly say, there are very few, if any REAL evergreen products / niches, since there are so much development in technology and also new research that becomes available.
As a consumer, I would like to see a date, even on a post regarding light-bulbs, since depending on the date, I will decide whether they have factored in the new studies that shows dangerous gasses emitted and how certain of the wavelengths (blue light) disrupts our sleep patterns. So yes, even with an supposedly evergreen niche, there's new development and research and therefore, as you rightly say, dates are relevant.
The other thing that comes to mind is "Meridians" - for many years it was scoffed at when the Chinese talked about it. It is only now that we have the technology to reveal those teeny weeny white little tube-like pathways, that almost looks like fibre optics throughout the body, that opinions start to change. So if I read an article that makes meridians out as quackery, I would like to see the date, so that I can take a guess at how informed this writer is.
For these reasons I also personally don't think any consumer products can really be "evergreen" (regardless whether it is cars, coats, attaché cases, or even good old lawnmowers). ;-) (I'll rely on your judgement about spaceships though!) ;-) LOL! Because what is considered fashionable or classic in one part of the world may be considered totally hip or grossly archaic in another country. Knowing when it was written and where the writer is from, often helps put that into perspective, and helps me to judge whether it is an upcoming, growing or waning trend depending on where I am and what I view as important.
Even though we may think that we give an "unbiased review" - we do give it to the best of our knowledge, and it ultimately is just our "opinion", given a set of factors that we considered. Yet, somebody who considers another set of factors, and with a different background or experiences, may write a totally different "unbiased review" about the same product.
The person who writes a post, saying that meridians doesn't exist, doesn't necessarily try to deceive their readers. They may believe this to be 100% true and accurate. Just as the person who describes a certain item as "a classic that will never go out of fashion" - do so, absolutely believing it to be true.
Yet, EVERYTHING that we write is only our opinions! (Except for this which is fact of course!) ;-) LOL! (Hint: And THAT you should take with a pinch of salt!) LOL! So by our posts being dated, our reader can use our opinions as a guideline to decide what is best for their unique circumstances, depending where in the world and in their life cycle they are.
My goodness, that was a long 2c worth - make it 3c, just to factor it the depreciation of money over time. ;-) LOL!
Sharlee
Hi Sharlee,
Never ever use the so called saving energy light bulb, they emit chemical cancer particles when burning, and if you drop one, make sure you are not near them as you will be contaminated with mercury particles. It is really bad, it makes you wonder why you can buy these so dangerous bulbs everywhere.
I only use the old energy eating bulbs or candles made of natural bee wax. :) Romantic and smell nice.
Now the question: can a time machine be Evergreen? LOL :))
Yes: if we can bring time standing still
No: time always changes
But what if we go back in time from a future pespective, can we say the past is Evergreen in the blink of a second?
Is Earth Evergreen?
So I say I 100% agree with you on all points and I have already decided not to use any Evergreen ever. (and if time standing still is it won't matter as no one will be there to notice except the time traveler him / herself LOL)
Have an ice cream on me! :P
Stefan
Hi Stefan
Yes, exactly like you say about the energy saver light bulbs!
> Have an ice cream on me! :P
Thanks Stefan! ;-) LOL! I trust these that I buy myself better... LOL!
How about some delicious Evergreen Apple Ice Cream covered with crusty frost at sunset! Extra Old and Extra Crusty! :)
I heard this is the new runner at Evergreen Ice Cream Shops!
Stefan LOL ;-)
Well said -- excellent points!
Thank you Amy - I appreciate that you chimed in. Following you as well.
May you enjoy a lovely day!
Sharlee
Excellent points and ice cream! :)
Hi Sharlee,
May you have a lovely ice cream weekend! :P
Thank you Stefan, the same there! ;-)
Hi Sharlee, I have to answer here, so let me answer now.... uhm.... ah now I know it: How was you ice cream weekend?
Hope you are doing fine.
ToLiNoLi
Stefan
LOL! WHICH ice cream weekend Stefan? It is too long ago, I can't remember how the ice cream tasted, would have to do it all over again! :-) LOL!
Well that weekend where you said that weekend for that weekend of that weekend where you will ice cream, was that too long? ;-) LOL