My CMS automatically adds the optional <lastmod> and <changefreq> tags to my XML Sitemap, but I'm unsure how much weight Google actually gives them. What are the best practices for setting these values for different content types (e.g., static landing pages vs. frequently updated Digital Marketing blog posts)? Can misusing the <changefreq> tag (e.g., setting "daily" for a page that updates monthly) negatively impact my SEO crawling or keyword rankings?
3 answers
The <lastmod> tag is very useful and should always be included, as it informs search engines of the last time the page content was substantively modified. This helps them prioritize which pages to re-crawl. The <changefreq> tag, however, is now considered a weak signal and is largely ignored by Google; Google prefers to use its own algorithms and actual observed site behavior to determine the optimal crawl frequency. The best practice for <lastmod> is to ensure its date accurately reflects a meaningful change to the page content (e.g., a major edit to a Digital Marketing guide, not just a comment update). Setting <changefreq> to an aggressively high frequency ("daily" or "hourly") for static pages that rarely change will likely be ignored and could potentially waste your limited crawl budget by setting unrealistic expectations.
If I update the <lastmod> date of a high-priority Digital Marketing landing page in the XML Sitemap, does that guarantee that Google will re-crawl and potentially re-index the page within a few days, or is it merely a strong suggestion for Googlebot?
Always include the accurate <lastmod> tag to signal content updates and prompt re-crawling. Ignore the <changefreq> tag for the most part, as it has minimal impact. Focus your Technical SEO efforts on content quality and submitting a clean sitemap.
David is right—an accurate
Ethan, it is a strong suggestion, not a guarantee. While updating the tag in the XML Sitemap is one of the strongest signals you can give to prompt a re-crawl, Google's re-crawling frequency ultimately depends on its perception of your site's Domain Authority, its prior observation of your update frequency, and the severity of your overall crawl budget limitations. For truly urgent changes to high-value Digital Marketing content, the best way to force a re-crawl is to use the URL Inspection Tool in Google Search Console and manually request indexing.