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Google has discontinued the Covid-era structured data linked to the Home Activities rich results, which enabled the highlighting of online events in search results since August 2020. This change was acknowledged in the search documentation changelog.
The structured data for Home Activities rich results facilitated the discovery of providers offering online livestreams, pre-recorded events, and other virtual activities within Google Search.
However, the original documentation for this feature has been entirely removed from Google Search Central webpages. Instead, it now redirects to a changelog notation explaining the discontinuation of Home Activity rich results display.
Initially, the purpose of this feature was to help users find activities to do from home during quarantine, with a focus on online classes and events. Google’s rich results provided information on how to access these activities, descriptions, and registration details.
Providers of online events were previously mandated to utilize Event or Video structured data. However, it’s crucial for publishers and businesses with such structured data to understand that the associated rich result is no longer available for display.
While it’s not necessary to remove the structured data if it poses a burden, it’s worth noting that leaving it in place won’t cause any harm. The structured data can remain even if it’s not utilized for rich results.
Google’s official documentation changelog provides insight into this change:
“Removal of home activity documentation:
What: Documentation related to home activity structured data has been removed.
Why: The home activity feature is no longer visible in Google Search results.”
Original news from SearchEngineJournal
