# Rich results

Category: [Structured Data & SERP Features](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/category/structured-data-serp-features/) › [Rich results & snippets](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/category/structured-data-serp-features/rich-results-snippets/)

**Rich results** are Google search results that show more than a title, URL, and description, such as ratings, prices, images, or recipe details. Google generates them from structured data on the page. Whether a page is shown this way is decided automatically.

## How do rich results come about?

Google reads structured data from a page's source. It recommends JSON-LD, and Microdata and RDFa also work. Its search gallery lists the supported features, among them Article, Breadcrumb, Carousel, Event, Job posting, Local business, Product, Recipe, Review snippet, Video, Discussion forum, and Q&A.

The markup has to meet the guidelines for its type and contain the required properties. Google does not guarantee the display and says the actual appearance in search might be different. Most features can be previewed with the Rich Results Test.

## Example

Markup for a product page with rating and price:

```html
<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Product",
  "name": "Hiking backpack 30 L",
  "aggregateRating": { "@type": "AggregateRating", "ratingValue": "4.6", "reviewCount": "128" },
  "offers": { "@type": "Offer", "price": "89.90", "priceCurrency": "USD" }
}
</script>
```

Whether Google then shows stars and a price is up to Google.

## Rich results can disappear

Google also retires result types. According to its documentation updates, FAQ rich results no longer appear in Google Search since May 7, 2026. Other features Google has phased out are listed in the timeline below. The list of supported types is worth comparing against the current documentation from time to time.

## Common mistakes

- **Marking up content visitors cannot see.** Google asks for markup of visible content only. A violation can lead to a manual action, after which the page loses its eligibility for rich results. Ranking in regular web search is not affected.
- **Missing required properties.** According to Google, items without all required properties are not eligible for rich results.
- **Page blocked for Googlebot.** Pages with structured data must not be blocked through robots.txt, `noindex` or other access controls.
- **Misleading or irrelevant markup.** Fake reviews or content unrelated to the focus of the page violate Google's guidelines.

## FAQ

**What is a rich results test?** A Google tool that shows which rich results can be generated from the structured data on a page.

**Does correct markup guarantee a rich result?** No. The type's guidelines must be met as well, and Google decides per query whether to show it.

## Retired search features and rich results

- **September 5, 2014:** Google introduces the improved sitelinks search box. It sends queries straight to the site's own search pages. ([Source](https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2014/09/improved-sitelinks-search-box))
- **August 23, 2016:** Google announces it will remove the “mobile-friendly” label from mobile results, as 85% of pages already meet the criteria. ([Source](https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2016/08/helping-users-easily-access-content-on))
- **January 21, 2020:** Google announces the end of data-vocabulary.org. Markup in this format is to lose rich result eligibility from April 6, 2020. ([Source](https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2020/01/data-vocabulary))
- **October 30, 2020:** Google moves the end of data-vocabulary.org support to January 29, 2021. ([Source](https://developers.google.com/search/updates#october-2020))
- **November 10, 2020:** Google announces that from May 2021, non-AMP pages will also be eligible for the mobile Top Stories feature. ([Source](https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2020/11/timing-for-page-experience))
- **April 19, 2021:** New timing from mid-June 2021. AMP is then no longer required for Top Stories, and Google stops showing the AMP badge. ([Source](https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2021/04/more-details-page-experience))
- **July 18, 2023:** Google removes the related: search operator from its documentation, as it is no longer supported. ([Source](https://developers.google.com/search/updates#july-2023))
- **August 8, 2023:** Google limits FAQ rich results to well-known government and health websites. How-to rich results are shown on desktop only. ([Source](https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2023/08/howto-faq-changes))
- **September 13, 2023:** How-to rich results are no longer shown on desktop either. Google calls the result type deprecated. ([Source](https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2023/08/howto-faq-changes))
- **October 13, 2023:** Google removes the host group element from its visual elements gallery, as it no longer appears in search results. ([Source](https://developers.google.com/search/updates#october-2023))
- **April 17, 2024:** Google removes the guidance for the limited-access video carousel after the markup proved not useful at scale. ([Source](https://developers.google.com/search/updates#removing-video-carousel-limited-access-documentation))
- **August 9, 2024:** The Notes experiment, which let users add notes to search results, has ended. Google removes its documentation. ([Source](https://developers.google.com/search/updates#notes-gone))
- **September 24, 2024:** The cache: search operator no longer works. Google removes its documentation. ([Source](https://developers.google.com/search/updates#cache-docs))
- **October 2, 2024:** The cached link is no longer available in search results. Google keeps noarchive only as a historical rule. ([Source](https://developers.google.com/search/updates#removing-noarchive))
- **October 21, 2024:** Google announces that it will remove the sitelinks search box worldwide from November 21, 2024. Other sitelinks remain. ([Source](https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2024/10/sitelinks-search-box))
- **November 29, 2024:** Google removes the sitelinks search box documentation and archives the nositelinkssearchbox rule. ([Source](https://developers.google.com/search/updates#bye-sitelinkbox))
- **January 23, 2025:** Mobile search results no longer show breadcrumbs in the visible URL, only the domain. They remain on desktop. ([Source](https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2025/01/simplifying-breadcrumbs))
- **June 12, 2025:** 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](https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2025/06/simplifying-search-results))
- **September 9, 2025:** Google removes the documentation for course info, estimated salary, learning video, special announcement and vehicle listing. These types no longer appear in results. ([Source](https://developers.google.com/search/updates#simplification))
- **November 5, 2025:** Google phases out the practice problem and dataset types in Search. For Book Actions, Google withdraws the deprecation notice. ([Source](https://developers.google.com/search/updates#simplification-nov))
- **May 7, 2026:** FAQ rich results no longer appear in Google Search. Google announced this in its changelog entry of May 8, 2026. ([Source](https://developers.google.com/search/updates#deprecating-the-faq-rich-result-feature))
- **June 15, 2026:** Google removes the documentation for the FAQ rich result. ([Source](https://developers.google.com/search/updates#removing-faq-rich-result))
- **July 1, 2026:** 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](https://developers.google.com/search/updates#updating-amp-documentation))

## Not to be confused with

- [Rich snippets](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/rich-snippets/index.md): is the older term, introduced by Google in 2009. Google's documentation and the Rich Results Test now call the appearance rich results.

## Related terms

- [Rich snippets](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/rich-snippets/index.md)
- [Rich Results Test](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/rich-results-test/index.md)
- [JSON-LD](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/json-ld/index.md)
- [Schema.org](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/schema-org/index.md)
- [Structured data](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/structured-data/index.md)

## Sources

- [Structured data markup supported by Google Search (search gallery) - Google Search Central](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/structured-data/search-gallery)
- [Introduction to structured data markup - Google Search Central](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/structured-data/intro-structured-data)
- [Documentation updates - Google Search Central](https://developers.google.com/search/updates)
- [Introducing Rich Snippets – Google Search Central Blog (May 12, 2009)](https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2009/05/introducing-rich-snippets)
- [General structured data guidelines – Google Search Central](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/structured-data/sd-policies)

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Last updated: October 8, 2026
URL: https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/rich-results/