FAQ Schema : Is your FAQ Schema not showing in Google Search results? This query was asked by a site owner from John Mueller in a Google search central office hours on January, 28.
A site owner was concerned about FAQ not appearing in rich results having FAQ schema implemented. Google search console wasn’t displaying any technical errors, and he was speculating if there were any non-technical reasons behind this.
Mueller gave three reasons that could be behind this issue. We’ll put light on the same.
What is FAQ schema, and what are its benefits?
Before proceeding into the details of the required query, let’s first understand the basics of the FAQ schema.
FAQ schema is the markup code that you place in your website coding. It lets search engines know that this content is in the form of questions and answers.
After you assign a FAQ schema, it becomes eligible to display in rich search results. Also, Google may pick it up for answers to featured snippets or voice-based queries.
It improves your online visibility to great extent. Answering random questions and inappropriate answers won’t bear that good result. On the other hand, Google prefers answers relevant and valuable to users.
When you appear at several places, people start recognizing your brand. It enhances their trust gradually and they can opt for your products or services. That means, it counts a lot for adding to your conversions.
Why is my FAQ schema not visible in Google search results?
Back to the main query, Mueller says FAQ snippets like another schema will appear in Google search results only if they satisfy these conditions:
#1 Must be technically accurate
The foremost requirement for Google to know that you have assigned a FAQ schema is, it must be technically sound.
SEO audit services can verify factors like:
Have you updated your new URL? If you have submitted a URL with Google, it can locate and show the URL to the users.
Is your content crawlable and indexable? Page indexing improves with internal linking. Sometimes your site setting acts as an obstacle for Google spiders to crawl the page:
- Canonical tag assigned to the FAQ schema page.
- Robots meta tag like noindex or nofollow tag applied.
Your structured data must satisfy desired aspects of markup. It is vital to check the correct configuration of schema markup. For this, use a rich result test. You can use it for device testing like desktop or mobile.
If there is some problem, it will show probable errors or warnings. Errors are missing properties for Google to frame proper schema. Warnings are valid reasons to include as options to generate better rich results.
Your structured markup list must be complete. Incomplete markup may be good for inner satisfaction that we have done something, but not for Google listings.
The biggest rescue, in this case, is the Google search console. It shows if there are any technical errors in the markup code.
But, Mueller says as you have already mentioned that you have thoroughly checked this, this couldn’t be the possible reason.
#2 Agree with Google data policies
Next, Google strictly follows its structured data policies. If any structured data doesn’t adhere to these policies, Google doesn’t list them.
- Data must be publically available. You must not protect the text behind passwords, gateways, paywalls, etc.
- Misleading users with forged ratings. Nowadays, people commonly use fake reviews to entice customers, but Google spiders are intelligent enough to detect them.
- It must not violate data protection or include inapt content like hate speech.
- Make sure you have updated your content, and it refers to genuine resources. Sometimes resources you’re linking to don’t exist anymore or are invalid.
For this, you must check for privacy policy and data transparency. Further, Mueller said that make sure that FAQs are visible on the page. It will help Google crawlers, and users easily find it.
# Is it trustworthy?
If your FAQ schema is both technically accurate and agrees with Google data policies, next comes the last query: Does Google find your content trustworthy?
When Google doesn’t find your data quality satisfactory enough, it doesn’t show the FAQ data in search results.
For this:
- Websites must be trustworthy so that Google believes its data to be reliable.
- Improve the overall quality of the site. With this, the chances of FAQ schema display in SERP results increases manifold.
Google applies its algorithm to match the user query with the search intent. The keyword that you’re targeting may not be the ones that users are looking for.
The bottom line
The probable reasons why Google include your FAQ schema in search results are:
- You haven’t implemented schema markup correctly.
- Structured data doesn’t comply with Google’s policies.
- Website data doesn’t stand up to high-quality standards that Google can trust.
For Google, providing the best search experience is the topmost priority. It uses several factors like device type, location, and search intent.