Google to drop support for several rich result types to simplify the search results page

Google will be dropping support for several structured data markup elements in order to simplify the search results interface. Specifically, Book Actions, Course Info, Claim Review, Estimated Salary, Learning Video, Special Announcement, and Vehicle Listing will no longer show rich results in the Google Search results.

Why are they being removed. Google said they “believe this change contributes to a cleaner, more focused Search results page for everyone.” Google added they are not used that much. “We’re phasing out these specific structured data types because our analysis shows that they’re not commonly used in Search, and we found that these specific displays are no longer providing significant additional value for users,” Google added.

Google said, “Removing them will help streamline the results page and focus on other experiences that are more useful and widely used.”

What is being removed. Here is the list of structured data elements being removed:

• Book Actions
• Course Info
• Claim Review
• Estimated Salary
• Learning Video
• Special Announcement
• Vehicle Listing

When will they be removed. Google said these will be “phased out over the coming weeks and months.” It is unclear when each one will be removed but they will be removed over the coming weeks.

Other structured data not going away. Google supports a large number (about 30 or so) of structured data elements and Google stressed they will “continue to actively support a range of structured data types that users find helpful when evaluating content to visit.” “Structured data can be a valuable way for website owners to describe their content and enable helpful Search features,” Google added.

More changes coming? Google hinted that more changes may be coming. Google wrote, “We’ll keep looking for ways to simplify the Search results page to provide the best experience for users and website owners, and we’ll share updates as we continue this work.”

Why we care. The removal structured data support may result in a lower click-through rate from the Google search results, since those search result snippets won’t have as much “dressing” to them.

But keep in mind, while Google may no longer support these structured data elements, other search engines may continue to support them. So you can keep it on your pages for other search engines who may use them.