Google recently dropped or reduced support for 7 schema types.
If you’re not familiar with what schema is, I like to refer to it as Google’s love language. It’s a little snippet of code you add to pages that help search engines have more context to what you’re saying on the page.
Let’s say you have a product page. You say the product name, price, everything. But without a little Schema code, Google reads the page and makes educated guesses.
“I think this is about a product, and I think that’s the price.”
But with Schema, you tell Google definitively. When Google has more context it trusts the info more. And if it trusts the info more, it’s willing to position it higher.
Google removed documentation for these types over the last few months, and said they don’t display results enhanced with Schema clarities for:
- CourseInfo & LearningVideo: This focused on educational content
- PracticeProblem: This Schema supported markup for learning materials
- ClaimReview: Used for fact-checking markup
- EstimatedSalary: Used in job listings
- SpecialAnnouncement: Used for time-sensitive updates
- VehicleListing: Used for car sales
- FAQ Schema: For showing questions and answers. Still used, just not showing in as rich of snippets or larger result types as often
Most of these had low usage, or low display value if they did have usage. So not a big deal for the majority.
The interesting one that was reduced, not eliminated, was FAQ schema. That’s one of my favorites. FAQ Schema is still around. It still helps provide clarity. It just doesn’t guarantee you’ll get a big expanded FAQ type result. It can still help you get a result, just not the previously larger FAQ specific result.
Leaving any of these old Schemas on your site won’t hurt. Can just stop adding new ones moving forward. The ones still recognized but less enhanced will still help lift rankings, just won’t show as large as a result type in those rankings.