Schema markup: which types still earn rich results
Which schema markup types still earn rich results in 2026, which ones Google retired, and how to generate and validate markup properly.
By Roozbeh Nazari · CEO
Schema markup is still one of the cheapest technical wins in SEO, but the list of types that Google actually turns into rich results has become shorter. Over the last two years Google removed several features from its structured data documentation, and FAQ, long the favourite of every plugin, left the results page in 2026. In this review we go through what is still listed, what is gone, how we prioritise the work, and how to generate and validate markup without wasting hours.
What Google's gallery lists in 2026
The reference point is Google's Search Gallery, the page that lists every structured data feature Search supports. At the time of writing it lists: Article, Breadcrumb, Carousel, Course list, Dataset, Discussion forum, Education Q&A, Employer aggregate rating, Event, Image metadata, Job posting, Local business, Math solver, Movie, Organization, Product, Profile page, Q&A, Recipe, Review snippet, Software app, Speakable, Subscription and paywalled content, Vacation rental and Video.
Two notes on reading the list. First, some entries are narrower than they sound: Google's changelog clarifies that Dataset markup is used only by Dataset Search, not by Google Search itself, and Carousel works only in combination with types such as Recipe, Course list, Restaurant or Movie. Second, being listed means a page can be eligible, nothing more. Google's general guidelines say plainly that correct markup does not assure a rich result; what is shown depends on the query, the device and the searcher's context.
What has been removed or deprecated
Google's documentation changelog is the most reliable record of what has disappeared. The entries that matter for most sites:
- FAQ: a deprecation notice was added in May 2026 stating that the feature would no longer appear in Google Search from 7 May 2026, and the documentation was removed in June 2026.
- Practice problems: deprecation notice in November 2025, documentation removed in January 2026.
- Course info, estimated salary, learning video, special announcement and vehicle listing: documentation removed in September 2025 because these features are no longer shown.
- Sitelinks search box: documentation removed in November 2024 because the feature is no longer available.
- How-to and fact check: neither appears in the current gallery.
Removed does not mean harmful. Google's guidelines describe structured data problems as costing a page its eligibility for rich results, not its position in ordinary web search. Accurate FAQPage or HowTo blocks can stay where they are, and the Schema.org vocabulary itself has not changed. They simply no longer justify development time, and we have stopped reporting them as a win.
How we prioritise schema markup work
With a shorter list, prioritisation becomes simpler. We sort types into three groups by how directly they change what a searcher sees.
- Foundation, for every site: Organization (logo, legal name, address, contact information), Breadcrumb, and Article on editorial content. For businesses with a physical location, Local business, which covers opening hours, ratings and directions.
- Revenue types, where the page type exists: Product with price, availability and review ratings; Review snippet; Event; Job posting; Recipe; Software app; Vacation rental; Video.
- Community and people: Q&A and Discussion forum for genuine user-generated threads, Profile page for author or member pages.
Two rules keep this honest. Mark up only what a visitor can see on the page: Google's guidelines prohibit marking up hidden content or content that misrepresents the page, and violations can lead to a manual action. And complete the required properties before chasing every recommended one; a few accurate properties beat a long block that is half guessed. For clinics, the sector-specific types are covered in our clinic schema guide, and template-level implementation is part of our technical SEO service.
Schema markup generator: useful, with limits
A schema markup generator, whether a standalone form, a CMS plugin or an AI assistant, is a fine way to produce a first JSON-LD draft. JSON-LD is the format Google recommends, because the markup sits in a script tag instead of being interleaved with the visible text. The limits are predictable:
- Generators still offer types that no longer earn anything in Google Search, FAQ being the obvious one.
- They fill fields from a form, not from your page, so values drift away from the visible content as soon as prices, opening hours or authors change.
- They work one page at a time. On a site with hundreds of products or articles, markup belongs in the template and should read from the same data source as the page.
Our practice is to use a generator to agree the shape of the markup with the client, then hand developers a template specification rather than pasted snippets.
Schema markup validator workflow
Two tools answer two different questions, and we run both.
- The Schema Markup Validator at validator.schema.org checks markup against the Schema.org vocabulary: syntax, types and properties. It says nothing about Google features.
- Google's Rich Results Test checks whether a page is eligible for a rich result and, for some features, shows a preview. Test the live URL as well as the code snippet, so that rendering problems are caught.
- After release, watch the rich result status reports in Search Console. They catch what single-URL tests miss: template errors and pages where the markup has stopped being served.
- Repeat after every template change, and read Google's changelog a few times a year so that retired types drop out of the backlog.
Also check that the marked-up pages are crawlable. Markup on a page blocked by robots.txt or carrying noindex cannot be used.
Conclusion
The practical picture for 2026 is fewer types and clearer priorities. Organization, Breadcrumb, Article, Local business, Product, Review snippet and Video carry most of the visible value for commercial sites; FAQ and the other retired features carry none. No one can promise that a rich result will appear, but complete, accurate markup that matches the page keeps you eligible wherever Google still shows one. If you would like your markup audited against the current gallery, see our services.