Checks / Links, canonical and speed
Sitemap has no useful last-modified dates
Crawlers use lastmod to decide which pages to fetch again. Missing dates, or one date on every URL, tell them nothing.
sitemap_lastmod · Links, canonical and speed · Notice
What triggers it
Fewer than half the URLs in your sitemap have a <lastmod>, or, with 20 or more dated URLs, all of them carry one date or at least 80% carry the same date.
What to change
Write each URL's real last-changed date in <lastmod>.
Example
Entry in sitemap.xml:
<url><loc>https://example.com/shoes/blue-trail</loc><lastmod>2026-10-24</lastmod></url>How to confirm the fix
- Open https://example.com/sitemap.xml: each <url> has a <lastmod> and the dates differ between pages
- Run a new crawl
How common it is
In the audits of our own sites on 26 Oct 2026 (4 sites): finding judged right on civiqpass.com, hexaciv.com.
Source: finding audit 2026-10-26 (English).
About this check
| Check ID | sitemap_lastmod |
|---|---|
| Report section | Links, canonical and speed |
| Severity | Notice |
| How it is decided | Measured: read directly from the page or the server's response. |
| Added | Before 19 Oct 2026 (versions 1 and 2), or a site-wide check with no version date yet |
| Status | Measured in every report |
| Report gives the code | No, the fix is described in words |
Related checks
- Security headers missing
- Server version is public
- Sitemap dates are older than the pages' own
- Sitemap and site disagree
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