Google ends support for data-vocabulary.org structured data in rich results

Beginning April 6, data-vocabulary.org structured data markup will be ineligible for Google rich results. Site owners must switch to schema.org markup if they want to maintain Google rich result eligibility. The company announced the coming change in January.

UPDATE: On April 6, Google postponed this change citing the coronavirus situation. On October 30, the company announced that it will stop supporting data-vocabulary.org markup on January 31, 2021.

Why we care

If you haven’t converted to schema markup for your structured data, your rich results will disappear from the search results page after April 6. That could mean a loss in organic visibility and traffic.

Google has been issuing warnings to site owners about pages that use data-vocabulary.org markup since January. Check your Google Search Console messages to view any warnings and resolve issues before April 6.

More on the announcement

• Google is focusing on schema markup due to its increasing usage and popularity, the company said.
• Site owners can use Google’s Rich Results Test tool to test live code snippets.
• This change only pertains to rich results. Pages using data-vocabulary.org markup for other purposes will still remain valid.