Google announced it a year ago at Google I/O 2018 but didn't launch FAQ and How-to structured data until a year later at this years 2019 Google I/O event. It comes with new rich results and new Google Search Console enhancement reports.
How-to Structured Data
Here is what how-to rich results look like in search and they should be live now:
Here are the developer docs on how to add the markup to pages that have step-by-step directions on how to related tasks.
Here is how they look like on the Google Assistant:
Here are the developer docs on how to add the markup to pages that have step-by-step directions on how to related tasks specific to Google Assistant. I should note, as Glenn Gabe said - you do not need a web page to add this markup, you can feed this information without a page!
They did that yesterday. :) https://t.co/6moapAI91X pic.twitter.com/6PaycSkkxP
— Glenn Gabe (@glenngabe) May 8, 2019
Here is the Google Search Console enhancement for how-to structured data:
FAQ Structured Data
Also we have FAQ structured data which is not to be confused with QA markup. FAQs are for single pages that have frequently asked questions, whereas QA markup is for sites like forums, reddit, etc that have many answers from many users about one question.
Here is what it looks like in search:
Here is the markup for search in their developer docs.
Here is what it looks like in the Assistant:
Here are the developer docs for the assistant markup.
You will only see these new enhancement reports if Google picks up on the markup on your pages.
Reaction Is Mixed
As I said on Search Engine Land - you really need to test it out to see if it will benefit you. If you are ranking in position 6, then adding the markup may help your listing move up or richen up and see a higher CTR. But if you are in position one, and you add the markup and searchers can get all the answers and steps without clicking through - then what do you do? What happens when your competitor adds the markup and the searcher's eye balls race by your listing and to your competitors?
Test it out - see the CTR, see the traffic changes and make the call.
Here are some reactions from the community:
Hurray for more ways to get less traffic to your website and generate free content for @Google to run ads against !
— PaulsSEOstuff (@PaulsSEOstuff) May 8, 2019
I think this benefits users as intent is matched more effectively, however this can lead to no-click searches which some webmasters might not appreciate.
— Itamar Blauer (@ItamarBlauer) May 8, 2019
I hope the EU wil force Google to share the ad revenue on scraped content
— sooda (@maarnix) May 8, 2019
Give me all your content !!!!! pic.twitter.com/0kECIh5rNr
— Erlé Alberton 🚀 (@cubilizer) May 8, 2019
Trap. Not impressed. 👎
— Gulshan Kumar 🇮🇳 (@TheGulshanKumar) May 8, 2019
Actually pretty excited about this. Will definitely test out ASAP.
— Alexander Juul (@AlexanderJuul) May 8, 2019
Not bad, I'll test it out
— Rendani (@Rendani_Makhado) May 8, 2019
Hey Google becomes user friendly? Surprise!
— donald_ffm (@donald_ffm_78) May 9, 2019
And some chatter on WebmasterWorld on this:
Great business plan, the publisher create the content, markups the content and then Google takes it for free, serves it's ads on it, collects data, and pockets all the cash and what do we get?It gets worse!
Its a catch 22. If you don't add the markup and give your content away for free, then someone else will and the what little revenue you had will continue to decay, as your website is not evolving with the market.
That is “catch 0” not “catch 22”No point having a website
The structured data benefits no one but Google, it keeps users there longer, for us SEO's it offers no value, stop using Google folks. I'm telling you Bing and DDG work pretty darn good.
Forum discussion at Twitter.
