Last updated on
WordPress released version 6.5, bringing in-built support for the lastmod element in sitemaps. This update aims to improve search engine crawl efficiency, which could boost website visibility significantly. Gary Illyes, part of Google’s Search Relations team, lauded the WordPress developer community for their work, sharing the news on LinkedIn.
The lastmod metadata tag signifies the most recent significant modification date of a webpage, aiding search engine crawlers in prioritizing and scheduling crawls efficiently.
According to Illyes:
“The lastmod element in sitemaps serves as a signal that assists crawlers in determining the frequency of page crawls.”
With WordPress 6.5 now integrating the lastmod field automatically, websites can enhance their SEO endeavors without requiring additional manual adjustments.
Illyes stresses that a “significant” change denotes updates that hold relevance to users and, consequently, impact the website’s performance.
The implementation of lastmod support in WordPress 6.5 owes much to the collaborative efforts of the developer community, notably led by Pascal Birchler.
Illyes expressed his gratitude and recognition for their contributions, remarking,
“Since version 6.5, if you’re on WordPress, you have this field natively populated for you thanks to Pascal Birchler and the WordPress developer community.”
While commending the introduction of this new feature, Illyes encourages website owners to update their WordPress installations to leverage the lastmod support fully.
He further advises:
“If you’re hesitating to upgrade your WordPress installation, please take the plunge and do it (perhaps once there are no plugin conflicts).”
This update underscores WordPress’s commitment to adhering to SEO best practices and equipping users with essential tools as the platform continues to evolve.
Original news from SearchEngineJournal
