FAQ and HowTo Schema: What Still Works in Google Search

Did you add FAQ schema to your pages, and now the question dropdowns under your Google listings are gone? Then nothing is broken on your site. Google cut back FAQ rich results on purpose in August 2023. It then removed HowTo rich results a month later. Today most sites get no visual reward from either markup. But valid FAQPage code does no harm, and your on-page FAQs can still help you in other ways.

In this guide I explain what changed and who still sees FAQ rich results. I also cover whether you should keep or remove the markup, how to add it the right way if you keep it, and which structured data types I think are still worth your time.

What Google Changed in August 2023

On 8 August 2023, Google posted on its Search Central blog that it was showing two rich result types less often. Its reason was to give people a “cleaner and more consistent search experience”. You can read the original announcement and its later update on Google’s own blog.

The two changes were:

• FAQ rich results: shown only for well-known, authoritative government and health websites. For every other site, the result would no longer show up regularly.
• HowTo rich results: shown only to desktop users. Mobile was dropped completely.

The HowTo limit did not last long. Google updated the post in September 2023. It said that from 13 September, Google Search no longer showed How-to rich results on desktop either. The result type was deprecated (retired) for good.

Google also said it would remove the How-to search appearance and rich result report from Search Console after 30 days. It would remove How-to support from the Search Console API after 180 days.

Why Google Made the Change

For years, FAQ markup was one of the easiest ways to make a search result look bigger. Sites added it to product pages, service pages and blog posts. Often the questions were ones nobody really asked. The results page filled up with dropdowns.

Google said it wanted a cleaner results page. In practice, a feature that almost any page could trigger had stopped being useful for searchers. Honestly, I was not surprised when it happened.

Who Still Gets FAQ Schema Rich Results

FAQ schema still creates rich results, but only for a small group of sites. Google treats these as well-known and authoritative in government and health. Think of national health services, official government departments and major medical institutions.

A few points to be clear about:

• There is no public list of sites that qualify, and there is no way to apply.
• Being a government or health site is not enough on its own. Google’s words are “well-known, authoritative”.
• Adding more FAQ markup, or more questions, will not move a site into that group.

If you run a small business, a SaaS site, an online store or a blog, assume FAQ rich results are not open to you. Plan around that.

Should You Keep FAQPage Markup?

Google answered this in the 2023 post. You can remove this structured data from your site, but you don’t need to go out of your way to do it. Structured data that Google does not use causes no problems for Search. It just has no visible effect.

So the real question is not “is it harmful?” It is “is it worth looking after?” Here is how I decide.

Keep It If

• It is already in place, valid, and built automatically from your visible FAQ content. Then it costs you nothing to maintain.
• You are a government or health organisation that may fall into the group that qualifies.
• Your CMS or a plugin outputs it cleanly, and removing it would mean extra developer work for no gain.

Think About Removing It If

• The markup no longer matches the page. For example, there are questions in the code that no longer show on screen.
• It was added in bulk to pages that don’t really have an FAQ section.
• Your team spends time fixing FAQ errors in Search Console that will never lead to a visible result.
• You are rebuilding your templates anyway and want cleaner code.

One thing I’d stop right away is adding new FAQ markup in the hope of getting dropdowns. That tactic ended in 2023.

What About HowTo Markup?

HowTo markup has no visual effect in Google Search at all now. Google has also removed its HowTo documentation and reports. The same logic applies. It does no harm, so there is no rush. But there is no reason to add it to new pages for Google.

If your step-by-step content is good, it can still rank. It can also show in features like featured snippets, based on the visible text. That never depended on HowTo markup.

How to Add FAQ Schema the Right Way

If you keep FAQPage markup, or you are a site that qualifies, it should follow Google’s rules. Invalid or misleading markup is the one version that can cause trouble. Google can treat it as a structured data policy issue.

The Required Properties

• FAQPage as the type, with a mainEntity property that holds the questions.
• Each item as a Question with a name (the full question text).
• Each question with an acceptedAnswer of type Answer. This has a text property that holds the full answer.

A JSON-LD Example

JSON-LD (a small block of code that describes the page to search engines) is the format Google recommends for most structured data. You put it in a script tag in the page’s head or body. Here is a short, valid example for a plumbing company’s service page:

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "FAQPage",
  "mainEntity": [
    {
      "@type": "Question",
      "name": "Do you charge a call-out fee?",
      "acceptedAnswer": {
        "@type": "Answer",
        "text": "No. We give a fixed quote before any work starts, and there is no charge for the visit if you decide not to go ahead."
      }
    },
    {
      "@type": "Question",
      "name": "How quickly can you attend an emergency leak?",
      "acceptedAnswer": {
        "@type": "Answer",
        "text": "For emergencies within our service area we aim to arrive within two hours, 24 hours a day."
      }
    }
  ]
}
</script>

The answer text can include a few HTML tags, such as links, lists, paragraphs and bold or italic text. Keep it simple. Plain text is fine, and it is what I use most of the time.

Google’s Content Rules in Plain English

• Visible content only. Every question and answer in the markup must be on the page where users can read it. Text inside a collapsible accordion counts as visible.
• One answer per question. FAQPage is for questions the site itself answers. If users send in answers, like on a forum or support community, use QAPage instead.
• No ads. Don’t use FAQ markup for sales copy dressed up as questions.
• No copies across pages. If the same FAQ shows on many pages, mark it up on one page only.
• Full text. Include the whole question and answer, not a cut-down teaser.

Testing Your Markup

Use Google’s Rich Results Test to check that the code is valid and that Google can read it. The tool will confirm the FAQ is found, even if your site never shows the rich result. The Schema Markup Validator is useful for checking schema.org code that Google does not cover.

After launch, the FAQ enhancement report in Search Console shows valid and invalid items across the site. Keep in mind what Google said: the 2023 change affected impression counts in these reports, not the number of items reported.

Better Ways to Get Value From FAQ Content

Losing the dropdown does not mean FAQ content stopped being useful. A good FAQ section still answers real questions and cuts down support work. It also gives Google clear, stand-alone answers it can use in other parts of the results page.

Write FAQs for People First

The FAQs that got rich results in the past were often filler. The ones that help now are the questions customers really ask before they buy or book.

• Pull questions from sales calls, support tickets, live chat logs and reviews. This is the first place I look.
• Answer the question in the first sentence, then add detail.
• Keep each answer about one question.
• Remove questions that only exist to repeat a keyword.

Aim for People Also Ask and Featured Snippets

People Also Ask boxes and featured snippets come from the visible text on pages, not from FAQ markup. A clear question as a heading, followed by a direct answer of 40 to 60 words, tends to suit both features.

For example, a page about boiler servicing could use an H2 or H3 like “How often should a boiler be serviced?” Then answer it right away in the paragraph below. That helps readers whether or not Google ever pulls it into a result feature. For a wider look at which result features exist and what each one draws on, see our guide to SERP features and how to earn them.

Make Answers Easy to Pull Out

Google’s AI Overviews and AI Mode also sum up content from web pages. No special markup guarantees you get included. So the safest approach is the same: clear headings, direct answers, correct facts, and pages that Google can crawl and index.

Measure the Right Thing

Say you compare traffic before and after August 2023 on pages that lost FAQ dropdowns. Expect changes in click-through rate, not rankings. Check Search Console performance data for those pages. Then pair it with conversion data, so you can see if the traffic you lost was traffic that mattered. In my experience, this step is the one people skip. Our walkthrough on building GA4 reports for organic search shows how to separate landing pages for this kind of check.

Structured Data That Still Earns Rich Results

FAQ and HowTo were not the only features to go. Google removed the sitelinks search box in late 2024. Then on 12 June 2025 it said it would phase out several less-used structured data features over the next weeks and months. These included Course Info, Claim Review, Estimated Salary, Learning Video, Special Announcement and Vehicle Listing. Google said this would not affect rankings.

That makes it more important to spend effort on the types that still show visible results. As of August 2025, these are the most useful for typical business sites:

Breadcrumb markup works best when your URLs and site sections already make sense. Our guide to SEO-friendly URL structure covers how to plan that.

Here is the order I’d use for most sites. Start with Organization or LocalBusiness on the home or contact page. Add BreadcrumbList across the site. Then add the type that fits your main pages, such as Product for shops or Event for venues.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Marking up hidden FAQs. If the questions are only in the code and not on the page, the markup breaks Google’s rules.
• Using FAQPage for answers from users. Community Q&A belongs in QAPage markup.
• Running two plugins that both output schema. Duplicate or clashing FAQPage blocks are a common cause of Search Console errors on WordPress sites. This is one of the first things I check on a WordPress audit.
• Expecting markup to fix weak content. Structured data helps Google understand a page. It does not make thin content rank.
• Chasing retired features. Before adding a new type, check Google’s search gallery documentation to make sure it still shows a rich result.

Conclusion

FAQ schema stopped being a way to stand out for most websites in August 2023. HowTo rich results were gone from Google by mid-September that year. Existing FAQPage markup is harmless if it is valid and matches the page, so you can leave it in place. But don’t expect dropdowns unless you are a well-known government or health site.

Put the time you used to spend on FAQ schema into writing truly useful answers on the page. Also put it into structured data types that still show rich results. My next step would be to check your current markup in the Rich Results Test and remove anything wrong or duplicated. Then look at which result features your pages could really earn.