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Schema types

HowTo schema

HistoricalAlso known as: HowTo markup

HowTo schema is a schema.org type for instructions that lead to a result in a sequence of steps. Google used to show these steps as rich results in Search. It no longer does.

At a glance

Format
Structured data using schema.org (JSON-LD, Microdata or RDFa)
Where
in the HTML of the page
Vocabulary
HowTo with HowToStep
Rich result
No longer shown in Google Search (desktop since 2023-09-13)
Status
Rich result retired, Google documentation removed on 2023-09-14
Docs
Google: Changes to HowTo and FAQ rich results

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What is the status today?

Google removed its HowTo structured data documentation on September 14, 2023, stating that the rich result is no longer shown in search results on desktop or mobile. The change was announced in a Search Central blog post on August 8, 2023, which first limited How-to rich results to desktop. Since September 13, 2023 they no longer appear on desktop either.

The schema.org vocabulary itself still exists. HowTo can describe a step list, supply (consumed materials), tool and totalTime. Recipe is a subtype of HowTo, and Google still documents rich results for recipes.

Guides that recommend HowTo markup to win step snippets in Google are out of date.

Retired search features and rich results
  1. Google introduces the improved sitelinks search box. It sends queries straight to the site's own search pages.Source: developers.google.com
  2. Google announces it will remove the “mobile-friendly” label from mobile results, as 85% of pages already meet the criteria.Source: developers.google.com
  3. Google announces the end of data-vocabulary.org. Markup in this format is to lose rich result eligibility from April 6, 2020.Source: developers.google.com
  4. Google moves the end of data-vocabulary.org support to January 29, 2021.Source: developers.google.com
  5. Google announces that from May 2021, non-AMP pages will also be eligible for the mobile Top Stories feature.Source: developers.google.com
  6. New timing from mid-June 2021. AMP is then no longer required for Top Stories, and Google stops showing the AMP badge.Source: developers.google.com
  7. Google removes the related: search operator from its documentation, as it is no longer supported.Source: developers.google.com
  8. Google limits FAQ rich results to well-known government and health websites. How-to rich results are shown on desktop only.Source: developers.google.com
  9. How-to rich results are no longer shown on desktop either. Google calls the result type deprecated.Source: developers.google.com
  10. Google removes the host group element from its visual elements gallery, as it no longer appears in search results.Source: developers.google.com
  11. Google removes the guidance for the limited-access video carousel after the markup proved not useful at scale.Source: developers.google.com
  12. The Notes experiment, which let users add notes to search results, has ended. Google removes its documentation.Source: developers.google.com
  13. The cache: search operator no longer works. Google removes its documentation.Source: developers.google.com
  14. The cached link is no longer available in search results. Google keeps noarchive only as a historical rule.Source: developers.google.com
  15. Google announces that it will remove the sitelinks search box worldwide from November 21, 2024. Other sitelinks remain.Source: developers.google.com
  16. Google removes the sitelinks search box documentation and archives the nositelinkssearchbox rule.Source: developers.google.com
  17. Mobile search results no longer show breadcrumbs in the visible URL, only the domain. They remain on desktop.Source: developers.google.com
  18. Google announces it will phase out several structured data features, including Book Actions, Course Info, ClaimReview, Estimated Salary, Learning Video, Special Announcement and Vehicle Listing.Source: developers.google.com
  19. Google removes the documentation for course info, estimated salary, learning video, special announcement and vehicle listing. These types no longer appear in results.Source: developers.google.com
  20. Google phases out the practice problem and dataset types in Search. For Book Actions, Google withdraws the deprecation notice.Source: developers.google.com
  21. FAQ rich results no longer appear in Google Search. Google announced this in its changelog entry of May 8, 2026.Source: developers.google.com
  22. Google removes the documentation for the FAQ rich result.Source: developers.google.com
  23. Google now sends users directly to AMP pages on the publisher's own host. The AMP viewer, AMP Cache and signed exchanges are no longer involved.Source: developers.google.com

Only backed by press or social media, so not listed as events. Author photos (Authorship) disappeared in June 2014 according to Search Engine Land, and Authorship display in August 2014 according to Search Engine Watch. Google's Search Liaison confirmed the end of the cached link on X on February 1, 2024 (per 9to5Google). According to Search Engine Land, continuous scroll ended on desktop from June 25, 2024, with mobile following in later months. Last checked: .

Example

HTML
<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "HowTo",
  "name": "Change a bike tire",
  "totalTime": "PT20M",
  "step": [
    { "@type": "HowToStep", "text": "Remove the wheel." },
    { "@type": "HowToStep", "text": "Pull off the tire and inner tube." }
  ]
}
</script>

Do you need to remove existing markup?

Google’s documentation gives no instruction for that. The markup does no harm, but it adds no visible feature in Google Search (assessment).

Sources

  1. Search Central documentation updates (Sept 14, 2023)developers.google.com
  2. Changes to HowTo and FAQ rich results – Google Search Central Blog (Aug 8, 2023, updated Sept 14, 2023)developers.google.com
  3. HowTo – schema.orgschema.org
  4. Intro to structured data – Google Search Centraldevelopers.google.com

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