WordPress has rolled out an update with version 6.5, introducing native support for the lastmod element in sitemaps.
This move streamlines search engine crawl efficiency, potentially enhancing website visibility.
The announcement comes from Gary Illyes, a member of Google’s Search Relations team, who took to LinkedIn to commend the WordPress developer community for their efforts.
The Lastmod Element: A Key Signal for Crawlers
The lastmod metadata tag indicates the last significant modification date of a webpage, enabling search engine crawlers to prioritize and schedule crawls.
In Illyes’ words:
“The lastmod element in sitemaps is a signal that can help crawlers figure out how often to crawl your pages.”
By natively populating the lastmod field, WordPress 6.5 lets websites improve SEO efforts without additional manual configuration.
Illyes emphasizes that a “significant” change refers to updates that might matter to users and, consequently, to the website’s performance.
WordPress Community Collaboration
Lastmod support in WordPress 6.5 is possible due to the collaborative efforts of the developer community, spearheaded by Pascal Birchler.