fbpx

Why Is Google Not Showing FAQ Rich Results In Search?

2 min read

Is your FAQ schema markup failing to yield enriched outcomes on Google Search? Google’s Search Advocate, John Mueller, offers three plausible explanations for why your FAQ schema markup might not result in rich snippets in search outcomes.
To gain a deeper understanding, let’s delve into the concept of FAQ Schema Markup.
FAQ schema is a specialized markup that can be incorporated into a webpage’s code, featuring a list of questions and corresponding answers. Google interprets this markup and leverages it to generate a rich snippet.
For clarification, rich snippets encompass any natural search result featuring augmented information displayed alongside the URL, title, and description. Rich cards, on the other hand, constitute distinct results, often enhanced and visually positioned above different organic results.
This information was shared during a Google Search Central SEO office-hours hangout.
An owner of a website inquires why Google needs to present rich results for web pages implementing FAQ schema markup. They emphasize that the markup in the Google Search Console is acceptable and speculate whether non-technical factors may hinder rich results.
The website owner is concerned that this may suggest Google needs more confidence in the content hosted on their site.
Is it plausible that such a scenario exists?
Mueller’s response and why Google refrains from displaying rich results in SERPs are outlined below.
Similar to other rich result types, results derived from FAQ schema will appear exclusively in Google Search if specific criteria are met.

 

Mueller states:

“FAQ rich results are essentially similar to other types of rich results in that we have several levels that we take into account before we show them in the search results.”

From a technical perspective, the initial prerequisite is the accurate implementation of FAQ markup.
You can employ Search Console to inspect for any anomalies or errors in the markup implementation.
Given Mueller’s observation, it seems improbable that this is the issue in this scenario, as the website owner affirmed that no errors were detected in the Search Console.
“As far as technical correctness is concerned, it appears that the implementation is technically accurate.”
Moreover, the markup must align with Google’s structured data guidelines alongside technical accuracy.
The fundamental guideline when dealing with FAQ markup is ensuring that the questions and answers are visibly presented on the webpage.

 

Mueller continues:

“On the other hand, they need to be compliant with our policies. I don’t think we have any kind of significant policies around FAQ-rich results other than that the content should be visible on the page.”

 

If the markup is technically correct and follows Google’s rules, the only remaining question is whether Google trusts the content.

In this scenario, Mueller believes Google isn’t completely convinced of the website’s quality and, as a result, is hesitant to display FAQs in search results.

 

“And the third issue that sometimes comes into play here is we need to be able to understand that this website is kind of trustworthy in that we can trust this data to be correct.

And that is sometimes something where, from a quality point of view, we’re maybe not convinced about a website and then we wouldn’t show it. But those are the three steps that I would look at.

Like, technically correct. Is it compliant with our policies? And then, if that’s all correct, I would think about what I can do to significantly improve the quality of my website overall?”

In summary, there are three plausible reasons why Google does not display FAQ snippets in search results:

  1. Technical issues stemming from improper markup implementation.
  2. Non-compliance with Google’s markup usage guidelines.
  3. Google’s assessment of your website as lacking in quality and trustworthiness limits the display of rich results.

 

Source – Search engine journal