Changes In Google Search: How To And FAQ Results Now Less Prominent
If you use Google Search often, you may have noticed that the way some kinds of information are shown has changed recently. Google has made changes that affect the way How To and FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) results show up in search results. Let’s look more closely at how these changes will affect the way you search.
'How To' Results Taking a Step Back
Have you ever looked for detailed step-by-step rules on how to do something and found them? These are called “How To” answers, and they are meant to help you figure out how to do different things. Google, on the other hand, has chosen to change the way these results are shown. If you do most of your searching on your phone, you may have already noticed that “How to” tips aren’t as common as they used to be. They will no longer show up in mobile search results. But don’t worry, you can still use these helpful tips if you’re on a desktop computer.
FAQ Results Becoming Less Common
You may also be familiar with FAQ results, which put questions and their solutions right at the top of your search results. These are a great way to find answers to popular questions quickly. But Google is now cutting back on how often these FAQ results show up. They will mostly be shown for well-known health and government services. FAQ answers will be shown less often on other types of websites.
The Reason Behind the Changes
Google is making these changes, but why? The main goal is to make it easier for people like you to look and find what you need. Google wants to make it easy to read and move through search results by making How To and FAQ results less important.
What About Structured Data?
You may be curious about how Google decides which search results to show and which to hide. This has something to do with “structured data.” Websites use organized data to give search engines more information. It’s kind of like a special code that helps Google understand material and show it in a certain way.
No Need to Panic About Removing Structured Data
If you own or run a website, you might be worried about what these changes mean for the information on your site. You don’t have to get rid of structured data right away if you’ve been using it to improve your “How to” or “FAQ” pages. Even if you choose to get rid of the structured data, it won’t hurt how well your site does in Google Search.
Gradual Implementation
These changes to how How To and FAQ answers appear are being implemented gradually. You might notice that these changes will be taking place over the next week. Google will also try out a few different ways to see how they work and how people react to them.
In short, Google is changing the way it shows How To and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) results in search to make things easier to use. Even though the way you see these results might change, the goal is to make it easier for you to find the information you need, whether you’re on a mobile device or a desktop computer. As these changes continue to happen, keep an eye on how searching on Google is changing.