You land on a how-to guide, devour the tips…and then wonder, “Wait, when was this written?”
If the page shows no date at all, that’s not an accident. It’s usually a deliberate growth-hack. Here’s why some publishers would rather keep you guessing.
1. They want every click they can squeeze out of Google
Searchers instinctively pick the “newest” result. In one case study a blogger saw traffic drop 40 % the moment old dates were reinstated on posts. User simply skipped anything that looked stale. By stripping dates, the same articles appear evergreen in Google’s snippet and social-media previews, winning a higher click-through rate (CTR).
2. Evergreen + affiliate links = longer cash-flow
Many “Top 10 Tools” or product-review pages earn via ads or affiliate links. The older those links appear, the lower the conversion rate. Content-marketing agencies openly recommend hiding dates so reviews feel current without the cost of constant rewrites.
3. They’re gaming Google’s freshness signals while keeping schema tidy
A page can look date-less to humans yet still contain datePublished and dateModified metadata for search engines. This lets the site satisfy Google’s technical guidelines while dodging readers’ freshness filter.
4. It disguises light “updates” or recycled posts
Some sites give an ancient post a quick paragraph-tweak, hit Update, then wipe the original timestamp so the refresh isn’t obvious. Forums full of indie-publishers discuss the tactic precisely because it hides how thin the update really was.
5. It hides an irregular publishing schedule
A minimalist home page with visible dates can expose month-long gaps between articles. Never a good look for a brand. Removing dates keeps the facade of a buzzing newsroom even if nothing new has shipped in weeks.
The flip side: trust and bounce-backs
User-experience tests show that date-less pages often create a “what are they hiding?” reaction; many readers hit Back and pick a source that shows its age proudly. Over time that erosion of trust can offset any quick traffic win.
Bottom line
Hiding timestamps is a quick way to freshen up tired content and snag a few extra clicks, but it trades on reader confidence. If you care about credibility, especially for advice that could affect health, money or security, look for sites that date-stamp their work and show a clear “last updated” note.
Sources
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ShoutMeLoud, “Effect of Showing Dates on Search Engine Ranking”: https://www.shoutmeloud.com/effect-of-showing-date-stamp-on-blog-traffic-case-study.html
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ContentPowered, “The Pros and Cons of Removing Dates From Blog Posts”: https://www.contentpowered.com/blog/removing-dates-blog-posts
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ContentPowered, “Published vs Last Updated Date: Which is Better for SEO?: https://www.contentpowered.com/blog/published-modified-date-seo
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Reddit r/juststart thread on removing dates for higher CTR: https://www.reddit.com/r/juststart/comments/15cyeg5/any_recent_news_or_trend_to_remove_dates_from/