Google has announced that it will be making significant changes to its search results, with fewer FAQ and How-To rich results showing across snippets and limiting the latter to desktop devices only. The update is expected to roll out over the course of the next week, globally.
For FAQs, Google stated that only “well-known, authoritative government and health websites” will have their FAQs appear in search result snippets. However, for all other sites, the rich result feature will not be available. According to Google, the decision as to which sites display these rich results is made algorithmically.
In addition, Google reassured site owners not to remove their structured data from websites as it does not cause any problems with respect to Search nor any visible effects on the search engine.
Google recently announced an important change for those with How-To structured data – rich results will now exclusively be shown for desktop users, and not for those using a mobile device. With mobile indexing becoming the norm, How-To rich results depend on the website’s mobile version including the appropriate markup.
For sites affected by this announcement, clicks from Google Search to the site may decrease dramatically. This could also lead to a dip in traffic from Google Search as recorded by analytics. Luckily, you’ll still be able to spot the decline in numbers through your Google Search Console performance reports and enhancement reports (while still maintaining the number of items reported).
If you’re interested in taking advantage of these rich results or just want to monitor your website’s performance, it’s essential not to miss out on Google’s update. Make sure to stay informed on how this change impacts your website!