Title: Ghost Update Author: CaphLabs Published: May 4, 2025 Last modified: January 27, 2026 --- Search plugins ![](https://ps.w.org/ghost-update/assets/banner-772x250.png?rev=3287022) ![](https://ps.w.org/ghost-update/assets/icon-256x256.png?rev=3287022) # Ghost Update By [CaphLabs](https://profiles.wordpress.org/ipodguy79/) [Download](https://downloads.wordpress.org/plugin/ghost-update.1.2.2.zip) * [Details](https://twd.wordpress.org/plugins/ghost-update/#description) * [Reviews](https://twd.wordpress.org/plugins/ghost-update/#reviews) * [Installation](https://twd.wordpress.org/plugins/ghost-update/#installation) * [Development](https://twd.wordpress.org/plugins/ghost-update/#developers) [Support](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/ghost-update/) ## Description Ghost Update is a simple but powerful plugin that makes your WordPress site look alive again by systematically updating post/page timestamps and alerting Google Search to come check it out. This is perfect for older blogs, abandoned content, or static websites that haven’t changed in a while and are now suffering in search rankings. Ghost Update offers: * ✅ Automatic post/page timestamp refresh (without touching content) * ✅ Optional random or sequential update order * ✅ Force update + recrawl button * ✅ Manual Google JSON auth upload & secure storage * ✅ Enforced 10-minute cooldown between Google Indexing API pings (for safety) * ✅ Simple log viewer + log clearing * ✅ Cron toggle — enable/disable auto mode * ✅ No product updates, no WooCommerce, no content edits ### Cron Behavior GhostUpdate uses WordPress’ built-in “pseudo-cron” system, which means scheduled tasks only run when someone visits your site. This includes both automatic post updates and Google Search Console pings. If DISABLE_WP_CRON is enabled in wp-config. php, you must run WordPress cron via a real server cron job. ### Key Points 🔁 WordPress cron is visitor-based No visitors = no cron runs. It only triggers when a page is loaded by a real user or bot. 🕓 Missed runs = delayed schedules Cron tasks won’t fire in the background unless triggered by activity. This can cause delays in updates on low-traffic sites. 🧠 One run = one reschedule A cron job must fire before WordPress will schedule the next one. They don’t “queue up” in advance. ### Options for Low-Traffic Sites ✅ Keep the plugin’s settings page open in your browser This keeps cron alive by generating regular page loads. ✅ Use the “Force Update + Recrawl Now” button Instant update and ping, no waiting or cooldown. ### Reminder This behavior is core to how WordPress works. GhostUpdate doesn’t change or override it — it works with it. ### External Services This plugin connects to multiple endpoints from Google’s Indexing API to notify Google that a post or page has been updated. This functionality is required to trigger recrawls in Google’s search index. ### What data is sent The plugin sends the URL of the updated post or page to the following Google API endpoints. No personal data is transmitted. ### When data is sent Data is sent only when a post/page is programmatically republished by the plugin or when triggered manually by the admin. ### External domains contacted * `https://oauth2.googleapis.com/token` — used to obtain an OAuth 2.0 token with a service account * `https://indexing.googleapis.com/v3/urlNotifications:publish` — used to send the updated URL to Google for recrawling * `https://www.googleapis.com/auth/indexing` — used as the OAuth scope to limit access to Indexing API only ### Service Provider * Google LLC * [Terms of Service](https://policies.google.com/terms) * [Privacy Policy](https://policies.google.com/privacy) By using this plugin, you agree to Google’s API terms and policies. The authentication is performed using a Google Cloud service account which you manually upload to the plugin. ### Notes * Posts/pages skipped due to cooldown are **still updated**, just not pinged. * Google will still crawl updated content eventually even if not directly pinged. ### License GPL v2 — use, modify, share freely. ## Screenshots * [[ * Ghost Update Settings Panel ## Installation 1. Upload the plugin folder to `/wp-content/plugins/` or install via the Plugins > Add New screen 2. Activate the plugin through the ‘Plugins’ menu 3. Visit **Settings Ghost Update** to configure: 4. * Upload your Google `.json` service account file * Enable automatic updating * Set your desired interval (in seconds) * Exclude posts/pages (optional) * View logs of all update and ping activity ## FAQ ### What does this plugin actually do? Ghost Update refreshes your post/page `post_date` and `post_modified` fields on a schedule (e.g. every 8 hours). Optionally, it will also notify Google using the Indexing API to request a recrawl. ### Does it change content? No. It does **not** alter content, metadata, taxonomy, SEO fields, or anything else. It only updates timestamps and optionally triggers a Google ping. ### What’s the cooldown logic for Google API pings? Ghost Update enforces **1 request every 10 minutes**. This is to protect your quota and avoid abuse detection. If an update is triggered while in cooldown, the post is still refreshed — but the Google ping is skipped and logged as: ``` 🔒 Cooldown active. Skipping GSC for post ID 1234. ``` ### Can I control which posts/pages get updated? Yes — exclude any number of posts or pages via ID in the plugin settings. ### How do I authenticate with Google? 1. Create a Google Cloud project 2. Enable the **Indexing API** 3. Create a **service account**, and download the `.json` key 4. Upload it in the plugin settings 5. Add the `client_email` from the `.json` file as an **Owner** in your Google Search Console property ### How do I add the service account as an Owner in GSC? 1. Open your `.json` file and find: “client_email”: “your-service-account@project. iam.gserviceaccount.com” 2. Go to **Google Search Console Settings Users and Permissions** 3. Click **Add User** and paste the service account email 4. Set permission to **Owner** ### Google gave me an HTML file for verification — what do I do? You don’t need it. Just uploaded securely via the plugin settings. this will add the file to “your- site”/uploads/ghostupdate ## Reviews There are no reviews for this plugin. ## Contributors & Developers “Ghost Update” is open source software. The following people have contributed to this plugin. Contributors * [ CaphLabs ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/ipodguy79/) [Translate “Ghost Update” into your language.](https://translate.wordpress.org/projects/wp-plugins/ghost-update) ### Interested in development? [Browse the code](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/ghost-update/), check out the [SVN repository](https://plugins.svn.wordpress.org/ghost-update/), or subscribe to the [development log](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/log/ghost-update/) by [RSS](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/log/ghost-update/?limit=100&mode=stop_on_copy&format=rss). ## Changelog #### 1.1.0 Tested and updated to work with wp 6.9 #### 1.0 * Initial release * Scheduled updates with interval + randomization * Google Indexing API ping integration * Rate-limited GSC API calls (1 per 10 min) * Service account JSON file support * Logging system with viewer + cleaner * Admin UI with force button and exclusion filter * Enable/Disable toggle for plugin scheduler * Works with pages and posts (not WooCommerce) ## Meta * Version **1.2.2** * Last updated **2 months ago** * Active installations **Fewer than 10** * WordPress version ** 5.8 or higher ** * Tested up to **6.9.4** * PHP version ** 7.2 or higher ** * Language * [English (US)](https://wordpress.org/plugins/ghost-update/) * Tags * [indexing api](https://twd.wordpress.org/plugins/tags/indexing-api/)[scheduled updates](https://twd.wordpress.org/plugins/tags/scheduled-updates/) [seo](https://twd.wordpress.org/plugins/tags/seo/) * [Advanced View](https://twd.wordpress.org/plugins/ghost-update/advanced/) ## Ratings No reviews have been submitted yet. [Add my review](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/ghost-update/reviews/#new-post) [See all reviews](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/ghost-update/reviews/) ## Contributors * [ CaphLabs ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/ipodguy79/) ## Support Got something to say? Need help? [View support forum](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/ghost-update/)