Google Removes How-to Rich Results from Search Results

Google recently announced a significant change concerning the removal of rich result How-To from their desktop searches. Previously, the removal of this rich result type only applied to mobile searches, but now How-To has been removed from desktop searches after a long consideration.

Removal of Rich Result How-To

Through Google's documentation and casual announcements on Twitter, Google stated that as of September 13, 2023, rich result how-to has officially been discontinued.

The announcement explains that while the schema for rich result How-To can still be used, it will not have an impact on increased visibility in search results. This decision is part of Google's ongoing efforts to simplify its search results pages.

John Mueller also responded to some user reactions to this change. He mentioned that developers and webmasters can still implement how-to schema; however, it won't affect the appearance.

The Impact 

Websites with How-To content that previously received rich result displays may experience decreased visibility. This can negatively affect the number of clicks and organic traffic received by these websites.

It's important to note that this change will also affect reporting in the Google Search Console for websites. Google will discontinue how-to performance reports in the Search Console. However, search appearance and those reports will still be available in Google Search Console for the time being.

This update will be rolled out globally, in all languages and countries, within the next week. Therefore, prepare to devise the best strategy to address these changes.