The timestamp is the date and time listed on the story for audiences. Updating the timestamp has some implications for search engine optimization. Because of Google’s guidelines, we only recommend updating the timestamp when the content has changed significantly:
- When more news or information becomes available
- If the story has changed or needs to be corrected
- When you’re making seasonal updates for evergreen stories
We don’t recommend updating the timestamp for headline changes, typos, or just to resurface an older story.
To update the timestamp:
- After editing the story, head to the Finalize screen.
- Select Update published timestamp. The current date and time will be selected automatically. Chorus does not currently support scheduling changes to a story.
- To backdate the story, select a past date or time.
- Hit Publish changes. Audiences will see the new timestamp instead of the original publish date and time. Timestamp updates also appear in the version history and story history.
Original and updated timestamps both appear in the story’s HTML markup. This helps search engines like Google to know when a story was updated and to surface the appropriate timestamp in search results.