Key Takeaways
Google is showing fewer FAQs and How-To boxes in search results because there are too many.
The changes are happening worldwide over the next week.
The goal is to make search results look neater by limiting when these boxes appear.
Google announced it will show FAQ and How-To boxes less often in search results.
There are currently a lot of these boxes showing up, so Google wants to be stricter about when they appear.
The changes will roll out globally in all languages and regions over the next week.
The reason is to make search results look cleaner by controlling when these special boxes are shown.
While the changes happen, website owners don't need to remove their structured data.
Google suggests keeping FAQ and How-To structured data on websites.
Google says having this data doesn't hurt or help search results if it's not being used.
Google first added these FAQs and How-To boxes in 2019. But now there are too many of them.
To keep them trustworthy, FAQ boxes will now only show on official government and health websites.
They may occasionally show elsewhere, but Google confirmed they won't regularly appear on other sites anymore.
Here's what the changes look like:
For websites wanting these boxes, Google will automatically consider some sites eligible.
This shows how important it is for websites to have high-quality, relevant content.
Google is also changing How-To boxes. These will no longer show up on mobile searches, only desktops.
Google says How-To boxes using structured data will only be viewable on desktops. Websites must have the markup on their mobile sites for this.
These changes may reduce website traffic and click-through rates from Google Search.
Google expects some traffic decrease, possibly lowering the rates visible in the Search Console.
Google assured website owners this shift will be seen in the Search Console.
As Google Search changes, webmasters and content creators are advised to adjust accordingly to ensure their content keeps showing up in results.