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What a plumber needs to know about lastmod dates
16 Feb 2026
How a plumber deals with lastmod dates — and what usually goes wrong.
The problem: a 404 that still returns 200. This breaks lastmod dates for a plumber.
There is a difference between a site that loads and a site that works. lastmod dates is part of the second category for a plumber.
Maintenance is not glamorous, but it is the reason a plumber has not had downtime since we took over lastmod dates. The invoice is small and the peace of mind is large.
We told a plumber that a 404 that still returns 200 was a ticking clock. They agreed to fix it the same week — which is rare. Most clients wait until it actually detonates.
If the hours on Google disagree with the site, people trust Google and then arrive angry. lastmod dates will not fix that. The hours page will.
For a plumber, we wrote a three-line script that checks lastmod dates every morning and emails the owner if anything changes. Total cost: zero.
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