Google is Sunsetting Support for data-vocabulary Structured Data Schema

On Tuesday, January 21, 2020, Google announced on the Official Webmaster Central Blog that as of April 6, 2020, data-vocabulary.org markup will no longer be eligible for Google rich result features.

Here’s what the post said:

Structured data schemas such as schema.org and data-vocabulary.org are used to define shared meaningful structures for markup-based applications on the Web. With the increasing usage and popularity of schema.org we decided to focus our development on a single SD scheme. As of April 6, 2020, data-vocabulary.org markup will no longer be eligible for Google rich result features.

As a preparation for the change and starting today, Search Console will issue warnings for pages using the data-vocabulary.org schema so that you can prepare for the sunset in time. This will allow you to easily identify pages using that markup and replace the data-vocabulary.org markup with schema.org.

About Data-vocabulary schema

Google’s “Data Vocabulary” project was an important milestone in the development of structured data on the Web, because it led to their collaboration with other search engines to create schema.org. However it is now very outdated and it is generally preferable to use more widely shared vocabulary from Schema.org. Therefore data-vocabulary.org markup will stop being eligible for Google search result features and enhancements.

What should you do?

• Ensure your website is verified in Google Search Console. Search Console will issue warnings for pages using the data-vocabulary.org schema so that you can prepare for the sunset in time. This will allow you to easily identify pages using that markup and replace the data-vocabulary.org markup with schema.org.
• If you’re unsure if you’re using data-vocabulary schema, you can test any code snippet live on Rich Results Test by pasting it into the search box.
• In order to be eligible for Google rich result features after April 6, 2020, Google recommends converting your data-vocabulary.org structured data to schema.org.

Useful links regarding the data-vocabulary update

• https://searchengineland.com/google-will-drop-support-for-data-vocabulary-org-structured-data-on-april-6-327927
• https://www.seroundtable.com/google-sunset-data-vocabulary-28868.html
• https://webmasters.googleblog.com/2020/01/data-vocabulary.html

Have questions about structured data and whether or not the data-vocabulary schema sunset will impact you? Contact us.

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