Is FAQ schema still effective in European SERPs after Google’s 2023 update?

 Google’s 2023 update significantly changed how FAQ schema is handled, especially in European SERPs.

Here’s what you need to know about the current state of FAQ schema in Europe, post-update:

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🛑 Google’s August 2023 FAQ Schema Update — Key Changes

✅ What's Still Working:

• FAQ rich results are still supported, but:

  • Limited to "well-known, authoritative websites"

  • Applies globally, including all European countries

  • Some exceptions exist for government and health sites

❌ What’s Changed:

• FAQ rich snippets no longer appear broadly in search results for most websites, regardless of language or region.

• Google de-emphasized FAQ schema in SERPs to reduce clutter and improve result quality.

📉 For most non-authority sites, FAQ schema is still crawled and processed, but it won't trigger visible rich results.

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🔍 What This Means for European SEO

✳️ FAQ schema is still:

• Useful for internal site structure and voice search optimization

• Helpful for Google Assistant, Bard, and other NLP tools

• Safe to include — it won’t hurt your SEO

But…

⚠️ It likely won’t:

• Show up as rich results in Google SERPs for local businesses, SMEs, or blogs (unless you’re a major publisher or government entity)

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🇪🇺 Observations in European Markets

Country	FAQ Rich Results Post-2023
Germany	Largely removed from SERPs
France	Rarely shown unless from gov/authority sites
UK	Still appears occasionally, but much reduced
Spain / Italy	Same pattern: deprecated except for trusted domains
Nordics	FAQ snippets mostly phased out

Exceptions: Sites like NHS (UK), gouvernement.fr (France), or large news outlets might still trigger FAQ snippets.

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✅ Best Practices Post-Update

1. Keep FAQ schema if it adds internal value (e.g., voice search, NLP parsing).

2. Don’t rely on it for click-through improvements in Europe.

3. Use FAQ content to answer common questions naturally on-page, even if not marked up.

4. Focus more on:

   • HowTo schema

   • Product schema

   • LocalBusiness schema

   • Video schema (especially effective in EU mobile searches)

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🚀 Alternatives That Still Work in SERPs

Schema Type	Rich Result Visibility (EU, post-2023)	Use Case
Product	✅ Still strong	Ecommerce and pricing info
LocalBusiness	✅ High	Maps and mobile local search
Review	⚠️ Limited (must follow strict rules)	Must be genuine and product-related
Video	✅ Strong	Enhances media visibility
Breadcrumb	✅ Very effective	Helps with navigation and snippets

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✅ Summary

FAQ Schema in EU Post-2023	Status
Visible FAQ rich results	❌ Mostly deprecated
Still useful for SEO context	✅ Yes
Safe to use	✅ Won’t hurt performance
Authority site exception	✅ Yes