Do your articles publish readable dates?
It looks for article pages missing a published or modified date in markup.
What Check Engine measures
The sample uses article markup and article-like addresses. A section index with at least 3 child links is left out of address-based selection. At least 3 articles are needed. A finding appears when more than a 0.5 share lacks a machine-readable date. Open Graph article dates and date fields on article objects qualify. A visible date near the start changes severity but leaves the missing markup to fix. For example, a blog section with at least 3 child links can be left out as an index.
Indexable article pages supply the comparison. A service page is not automatically an article merely because it contains prose, and a section listing is handled differently from an entry.
How to read the result
The finding is low severity if every affected article already shows a visible date, and medium otherwise. It does not compare the date with the age of the facts or verify that a modified date reflects a real edit.
Why it matters
A date printed for a person and a date attached to an article node serve related readers. The distinction in the report lets you add missing markup without claiming that an already visible date never existed.
How to fix it
Use the true publication and modification dates. Add them to the article markup and show the date clearly near the content when it is useful to readers. Check that the visible date agrees with the structured value. Leave the modification date alone when a rebuild did not change the article itself.
What we found in field audits
Problems in Content quality were found on 14 of the 14 sites we audited. These are area totals. Read the field-audit method.
Method note
backend/seo_engine/checks/content.py, freshness, revision 0bb8e8d3.
Common questions
Can a visible article date lower the missing-date finding?
Yes. When every affected article already displays a date, the finding has low severity. Missing markup still needs repair.
How many articles are needed to check missing date markup?
The sample needs at least 3 articles. Recognised section listings can be excluded from article selection.
Does the article-date check verify that an update date is truthful?
No. The check cannot establish whether an update represents a real edit. Use the date of the actual work.