Find us at BrightonSEO 25/26 April - STAND 18! Fill your swag bag!

Structured Data - Change History & Alerts

Make sure you don't lose your Rich Results.

Sign up for alerts to stay on top of changes for Google Rich Result requirements and Schema.org updates.

Structured Data Change History Timeline

Get these alerts in your inbox
November 2022
22

Clarification on eligibility criteria for rich results

Google updated the documentation to clarify which guidelines you need to follow in order to be eligible for rich results, and they specifically linked out to a list of structured data issues, which can result in a manual action.

August 2021
09

Google's Structured Data Testing Tool now redirects to a landing page

A long time coming, Google's Structured Data Testing Tool (SDTT) is no longer publicly accessible, as the page now redirects to a landing page that encourages you to choose between the Rich Results Test and the Schema Markup Validator.

  • Rich Results Test - this is the official tool for testing your structured data to see if it is valid for Google rich results, but does not check structured data that Google does not support.
  • Schema Markup Validator - this is a 'refocused' version of the original SDTT, migrated onto the schema.org domain, which will validate against Schema.org, but does not validate Google rich results. This tool is officially still in beta, however Google claim it has now 'stabilized'.

Note that if you are looking to find a tool that will validate against Google rich results guidelines AND the Schema.org structured data model, Sitebulb has a standalone structured data checker which will do exactly that.

May 2021
25

Google Search Console to remove generic 'rich results' grouping

In Search Console, Google have 'Search appearance types' to help users differentiate where clicks and impressions are coming from. One of these was a generic 'Rich results' group, which covered multiple rich result types (even ones that had their own breakout grouping). So Google are sunsetting this search appearance, and it will be removed from Search Console on August 1st 2021.

December 2020
15

Google u-turn on deprecating the Structured Data Testing Tool

Following vocal support from the community, Google have reversed their decision to deprecate the Structured Data Testing Tool (SDTT). Instead, the tool will be 'refocused' and migrated to a new domain, by April 2021.

This new tool will be focused on checking Schema.org syntax and compliance, but will NOT validate Google Search Features. Going forward, Google's recommendation will be to use their Rich Results Test for validating Google Search Features, and then separately using this new incarnation of the SDTT for validation against Schema.org.

October 2020
30

Google update data-vocabulary.org sunsetting

Back in January, Google announced that data-vocabulary.org markup will stop being eligible for Google search result features and enhancements. In April, they postponed the change due to the Coronavirus situation. Now they have updated their original blog post and supporting documentation to confirm they will be deprecating support for data.vocabulary.org markup on January 29th 2021.

August 2020
11

New structured data video & Rich Results FAQs

Google published a blog post with a video on how to get started with structured data, along with a set of FAQs on rich results and structured data.

05

Clarification that images referenced in structured data must use a Google-supported file format

Updated all relevant documentation that images referenced in structured data must be in one of the image file formats that are supported by Google Images.

July 2020
08

New guidance for marking up multiple items on a single page

A new section was added called 'Multiple items on a page' which clarifies that Google understand mutliple items on the page, whether nested or marked up as individual items. A note was also added to advise the use of @id in order to link together individual items.

07

Rich Results Test tool out of beta & SDTT to be deprecated

Google announced that the Rich Results Test now fully supports all Google Search rich result features, and it is no longer in beta. In addition, they also announced their intention to deprecate the Structured Data Testing Tool.

June 2020
16

Added a video to most documentation pages

Added monitoring rich results video and more detailed information on using Search Console to monitor rich results to structured data reference pages (for example Product, Recipe, FAQ).

May 2020
11

Removed and redirected deprecated documentation pages

Removed the following documentation that has been deprecated since June 2019: Social Profile, Corporate Contact and Place Actions.

April 2020
30

Updated structured data debugging guide

Added a note to explain that it isn't reliable to use cached links for debugging purposes. Instead, use the URL Inspection Tool because it has the a most up-to-date version of your page.

06

Google postpone sunsetting support for data-vocabulary

Back in January, Google announced that data-vocabulary.org markup will stop being eligible for Google search result features and enhancements. Today, however, they have updated their blog post with an update: 'We have decided to postpone this change for the immediate future due to the Coronavirus situation. We will re-evaluate this matter in June 2020.'

03

Published new guidance on how to add structured data with JavaScript

Added a new guide under 'Enable rich results with structured data' which explains how to generate strcutured data using Google Tag Manager and custom JavaScript.

March 2020
26

Added new guidance for how to pause your online business

If your website is temporarily closed, you can safely 'pause' your online business by following this guidance, which includes updating your structured data to reflect current opening hours and availability.

February 2020
28

Best practice guidance for news publishers

Google published a blog post with guidance for news publishers on gaining richer coverage within search results, including adding Article structured data to AMP pages and marking up live-streamed video content.

January 2020
21

Google announces they are sunsetting support for data-vocabulary

Google announced that data-vocabulary.org markup will stop being eligible for Google search result features and enhancements, and advise converting data-vocabulary.org markup to schema.org. As of April 6, 2020, data-vocabulary.org markup will no longer be eligible for Google rich result features.

Get Structured Data Alerts

We monitor all the Google and Schema docs so you don't have to. We'll email you an alert as soon as something changes, or just a monthly round-up.

By submitting your details you agree to Sitebulb's privacy policy (TL;DR we'll keep your data secure and won't ever sell it)