Big Update: Google Downgrading the Visibility of How-To and FAQ Rich Results

On August 2, 2023, Google announced that it would be downgrading the visibility of How-To and FAQ rich results. This means that these rich results will be less likely to appear in search results, and they may not appear at all on mobile devices.

Google on Downgrading the Visibility of How-To and FAQ Rich Results

Google’s announcement said that the downgrade was being made because these rich results were not being used as often as they could be. In particular, the HowTo rich results were only being used on about 1% of pages that were eligible for them.

The downgrade will affect all websites that have How-To or FAQ rich results, but it will not affect all pages on those websites. Only pages that are eligible for rich results will be affected.

If you have a website that has How-To or FAQ rich results, you can check to see if they are still eligible by using the Rich Results Test tool in Google Search Console.

Impact of the Update on Publishers

Here are some things that bloggers and content writers should take into consideration with the latest faq update google about downgrading the visibility of How-To and FAQ rich results:

Create high-quality content. This is always important, but it’s especially important now that How-To and FAQ rich results are less likely to be visible. Make sure your content is well-written, informative, and helpful.
Use clear and concise language. If your content is written in a clear and simple manner, people are more likely to engage with it. Avoid using jargon or technical terms that your audience may not understand.
Use structured data markup. Structured data markup helps Google understand your content and makes it more likely to appear in rich results. You can use the Schema.org markup to create structured data for your How-To and FAQ content.
Promote your rich results. Once you’ve created high-quality content with structured data markup, you need to let people know about it. Through email marketing, social media, and other channels, advertise your rich results.

It’s also important to note that the downgrade of How-To and FAQ rich results may not affect all bloggers and content writers equally.

If you create high-quality content that is well-optimized for search, you may still see a boost in traffic from Google even if your rich results are not as visible.

Limited to the Health and Government Sectors

In addition, Google announced that it would be limiting the visibility of these rich results to well-known, authoritative government and health websites. In simple words, websites with higher authority and reliability will be eligible for How-To and FAQ rich results.

Google wants to make sure that consumers are not being deceived by poor-quality material and that they are receiving accurate and trustworthy information from government and healthcare websites.

The update will affect all websites that have How-To or FAQ rich results, but it will only affect the visibility of those rich results on government and health websites.

If you have a website that is not in the government or health sector, you will still be able to create How-To and FAQ rich results, but they will be less likely to appear in search results.

Conclusion

In the end, the best method to handle this upgrade is to concentrate on producing in-depth and engaging content that is beneficial to your audience. If you do that, you’ll be successful regardless of whether or not your rich results are visible.