Google Drops 7 Schema Types Marketers Must Know

Suppose you've spent weeks meticulously marking up your website to get those fancy search features. 

Now, without warning, Google just deleted 7 of the specific instructions you gave it. 

Are those pages going to crash? 

Is your SEO ruined? 

Absolutely not. 

But if you don't know why Google is doing this, you'll miss the real, massive opportunity it unlocks for your business in 2025 and beyond.

When Google makes a major change, it sends ripples across the digital world. 

The recent announcement that Google drops support for 7 schema types from its rich results is one of those moments.

As a business owner, you might be wondering: What exactly are these "schema types" and what does it mean for my website's traffic?

Consider schema markup as a secret language you use to talk directly to Google, telling it, "This number is a price," or "This person is the author." 

By removing support for several types, Google is simply trimming the fat, streamlining the look of its search results, and sending a very clear message: focus your efforts where they actually matter.

As your digital best buddy, we’ll talk about the list of removed features, why this is happening, and, most importantly, how the best digital marketing agency is already using this change to future-proof our clients' strategies by focusing on proven, high-impact markups that genuinely build authority and drive sales.

In June 2025, Google officially announced it would no longer support specific rich results generated by certain structured data types. It is not a penalty but a change in what they choose to display visually.

Here is the list of schema types Google no longer supports for rich results in Google Search:

• Book Actions: Used to provide 'Buy' or 'Preview' action buttons following to book listings.
• Course Info: Used by e-learning sites to show details like course provider, duration, and start dates.
• Claim Review: Used by fact-checking organizations to show claim verdict snippets.
• Estimated Salary: Used by job boards to display salary ranges.
• Learning Video: Used to enhance educational video snippets with learning context.
• Special Announcement: Used for public safety or urgent messaging, popular during COVID-19.
• Vehicle Listing: Used by auto dealers to display detailed specs and pricing for cars.

These features are gradually being phased out from Search Console reports, and the visual enhancements will stop appearing in search results. It is the latest Google structured data update for 2025

No, this does not directly hurt your search rankings.

• No Ranking Impact: Google has stated clearly that the 2025 schema markup update is a visual and functional change, not an algorithmic one. Your ranking position on Page 1 will not drop simply because the Course Info schema was deprecated on your site.
• CTR Impact: The main loss is the visual pop, or "rich result," in the Search Engine Results Page (SERP). If your content relied heavily on the estimated salary schema Google update to stand out, your click-through rate (CTR) might dip slightly.
• Code Cleanup: You don't have to rush to remove the old code. Google will simply ignore it. However, it’s best practice to audit and remove deprecated schema types in Google Search to keep your code clean and focused.

Expert Analogy

Your website is a complex machine. A schema is like a small label on a specific part. 

Google decided that 7 of those labels are no longer necessary for its display. The machine still runs perfectly, but those specific display lights are off.

The official reason Google is removing support for 7 structured data types is "simplifying the search results page" and removing features with "low value or limited adoption." But for marketers, the real message is deeper.

From Markup to Meaning – How This Fits Semantic and Entity-Based SEO

This change is not about removing the schema. It is about Google demanding a higher standard for the content tied to the markup. It ties directly into two major trends:

• Focus on Core Intent: Google is doubling down on rich results that serve the most common user intents: 
• Finding products (Product), 
• Getting local information (Local Business), 
• Reading authoritative content (Article), and 
• Getting simple answers (FAQ). 

The removed types were niche or had simpler alternatives.

• Preparing for AI Search: As AI Overviews (AIO) and conversational search become more common, Google needs explicit, trustworthy data. This shift prioritizes structured data that helps define entities (things, people, places, organizations) rather than just triggering a specific visual feature.

Semantic SEO and structured data work together. If your Article schema clearly identifies the author (Person entity) and the publisher (Organization entity), Google can build a better profile of your content's quality and trustworthiness. The future of search is entity-based seo with schema. This update simply clears out the distraction.

The vast majority of essential, high-impact schema types are still fully supported and are crucial for signalling E-E-A-T. Your strategy should now shift away from the list of schema types Google no longer supports and towards these foundational elements.

Foundation Layer – Organization, Local Business, Logo, Breadcrumb

These schema types are non-negotiable. They establish the identity, authority, and structure of your entire website.

• Organization Schema: This defines your business as an entity. It includes your official name, logo, URL, and links to your social media profiles. It is key for Trustworthiness (T) and overall brand presence.
• Local Business Schema: Absolutely essential for geo-targeted SEO. It provides Google with physical address, phone number, operating hours, and accepted payment methods. If you serve a specific region in any country, it is your digital map pin.
• Logo Schema: Tells Google exactly which image is your brand's official logo for display in search.
• Breadcrumb Schema: Improves user experience and navigation by showing the exact path from the homepage to the current page in the SERP.

Commercial Layer – Product, Offer, Review Snippets, Merchant-centered Markup

If you sell anything, it is your goldmine. These schemas still drive the most visually engaging rich results and directly influence conversions.

• Product & Offer Schema: Used for e-commerce. Product defines the item (name, description, image). Offer provides the pricing, currency (USD), and availability. When implemented correctly, this generates the rich product snippet with prices and reviews.
• Review Snippets (AggregateRating Schema): Shows the star ratings next to your listing. This is the strongest trust signal you can send to a potential customer and is crucial for E-E-A-T.

Content Layer – Article, FAQ, How-To, Video

These types are essential for content publishers, service providers, and anyone wanting to capture visibility in the AI search environment.

• Article Schema: Used for blog posts and news. It explicitly identifies the Author (Person) and the Organization. This is a direct signal of Expertise (E) and Authority (A). Ensure your author has a dedicated bio page linked via the schema.
• FAQ Schema: Mark up your frequently asked questions. It generates a highly visible, expandable rich result that captures valuable SERP space. Remember, your answers must be visible on the page and accurate.
• How-To Schema: Provides step-by-step instructions. Still highly effective for educational content and tutorials.
• Video Schema (VideoObject): Critical for getting your video content discovered. Since the Learning Video schema deprecation occurred, ensure your core video object markup is robust, detailing the title, description, and upload date.

After the Google schema update in June 2025, the immediate actions for your team should be:

• Audit: Use the Google Rich Results Test (though the affected types are being removed from it) or a site crawl tool to identify all pages using bookaction schema, course info schema, deprecated claim review schema, rich results removed, or any other deprecated schema types in Google search.
• Remove (Eventually): While these types won't cause errors, removing them streamlines your code and makes future audits cleaner.
• Replace Where Possible: For content that used the old schema, pivot to a currently supported type:
• Old Course Info: Replace with an Article or FAQ Page covering the course content, or use the Event schema if it's a scheduled webinar.
• Old Estimated Salary: Ensure your Job Posting schema is impeccable and the salary is clearly visible on the page.

The latest Google structured data changes underscore one fundamental truth, and that is that schema is a megaphone, not a source. 

If your content is thin, AI-generated, or lacks real-world experience, no amount of schema will save it.

• Schema Markup vs Helpful Content: Google's Helpful Content System (HCS) judges the quality and value of the words on your page. Schema only translates those words for Google. Your focus must be on creating content that demonstrates Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness (E-E-A-T).
• Actionable E-E-A-T Signals: Use schema to point to the human expert behind the content. Link the author's Person schema to their LinkedIn or official profile. Show contact details and clear refund/privacy policies on every transaction page.

The change that Google is removing support for 7 structured data types is not a crisis. It’s an opportunity to optimize.

As a part of our SEO Service, we build an entity graph of your entire business. It means we ensure that every piece of information about your company (the Organization, Products, Services, and People) is explicitly defined and linked using JSON-LD markup. 

The approach achieves two things without needing to tell you every technical detail:

• AI Resilience: By defining your business as a clear, interconnected entity, we make it easier for AI Search Results (like Google's AI Overviews) to confidently pull and cite your data, boosting visibility even when rich results are simplified.
• Maximized E-E-A-T: We focus our schema efforts almost entirely on Organization, Local Business, and Article markup, ensuring your team's experience and expertise signals are clearly broadcast to the algorithm.

Our strategy is always ahead of the curve, ensuring you stay focused on a durable, high-impact structured data strategy for marketers that lasts for years, not just on the fleeting, experimental features Google might later drop.

Schema Is Evolving, Not Disappearing. 

The recent action by Google to drop support for 7 schema types serves as a vital reminder that technical SEO is an ongoing and adaptive process.

The era of chasing every shiny new rich result is over. 

The new focus is on fundamental authority. 

By prioritizing the core schema types (Product, Local Business, FAQ, Article) and investing in beneficial, E-E-A-T-compliant content, your business will not only survive these updates but thrive in the more streamlined, entity-focused search landscape of 2026.

Don't let yesterday's deprecated features distract you from tomorrow's opportunity. 

Let's audit your structure and build a foundation for digital supremacy

Do I need to remove the deprecated schema from my site?

You do not need to remove the code as it won't cause errors or affect rankings. However, it's best practice to audit structured data after a Google update and remove or replace any unused markup (such as the learning video schema deprecation) to keep your code clean and manageable.

Does removing schema types lower organic traffic?

Removing the code for the 7 schema types Google no longer supports will not cause your organic rankings to drop. However, if your content previously displayed a highly visual, rich result (such as a salary range), your click-through rate (CTR) might decrease slightly. The overall volume of organic traffic from rankings will remain stable.

Which 7 schema types did Google remove?

The seven structured data features Google retired for rich results are: Book Actions, Course Info, Claim Review, Estimated Salary, Learning Video, Special Announcement, and Vehicle Listing.

How does Google use structured data now?

Google uses supported structured data to understand content context, identify entities (people, places, products), and generate rich results (such as star ratings or FAQs). It also feeds this structured information to its AI models to improve search answers.

What to do after Google removes schema types?

The key steps are: audit structured data after the Google update to identify retiring types, remove reliance on them, and refocus the schema on supported types such as Article, Product, Local Business, Review, and FAQPage.

How does the schema and Google helpful content update connect?

The connection between schema markup and helpful content is strong. The Helpful Content Update (HCS) judges quality. Schema helps Google understand the Expertise and Trustworthiness behind that content (E-E-A-T), for instance, by linking your Article schema to a verified Person entity. Good schema amplifies helpful content.

Are the Claim Review schema-rich results removed?

Yes, the claim review schema rich results were removed as part of the June 2025 Google structured data update. Fact-check summaries will no longer be visually emphasized in search results by this specific markup.

What is the primary reason for these latest Google structured data changes?

Google stated the primary reason is to simplify the search results page by removing features that were either underused, no longer aligned with user experience goals, or had limited adoption. It’s a cleanup intended to focus on high-impact, widely used rich results.