The Grow by Mediavine WordPress plugin encountered a bug that caused Yoast to stop outputting certain structured data elements. This bug led to some recipe sites experiencing a drop in rankings and others losing images in their Google rich results listings.
When a WordPress plugin disrupts another, it is known as a conflict, which is what occurred in this instance.
Issues with structured data caused by the Grow Social Pro social sharing plugin led to changes in how Google displayed rich results. Mediavine responded quickly and fixed the issue.
### According to an email from Mediavine:
“If you are running our WordPress Grow plugin (formerly Social Pug) and updated to either version 2.12.1 or 2.12.2 in the past couple of days, please update your Grow plugin to 2.12.3 ASAP.
Version 2.12.1 caused CSS display issues in some instances when optimization plugins like WP Rocket and Autoptimize were also running on the site.
For Grow users that are also using the WP Recipe Maker plugin, Grow versions 2.12.1 and 2.12.2 have the potential to impact rich snippets because of the way that data is output through Yoast in the head of pages.
Our 2.12.3 release corrects this issue, and it is important to update to the most recent version to resolve this potential conflict on your site as soon as possible.”
### How Do These Issues Occur?
Software makers ideally test their software before it is released to the public. However, errors may sometimes go unnoticed. For instance, a few years ago, a Yoast SEO bug led to the creation of thousands of extra web pages consisting of just an image.
Similarly, Grow by Mediavine tested its product but didn’t catch this issue.
### Grow Social Pro by Mediavine Changelog
A changelog informs users of any changes in a software update. It’s a standard practice in the software publishing community. Although initially hard to find, the changelog was eventually made available, demonstrating Mediavine’s commitment to transparency and responsibility.
### Updated: Public Statement by Mediavine
At the time of writing, there was no public statement about the issue, only an email notification. Later, Mediavine issued an explanation and an apology via Twitter:
“An update to our WordPress plugin Grow Social Pro interfered in some cases with the output of Yoast SEO metadata. We deeply regret this. Learn what happened, how we fixed it & how we’re making sure it never happens again.”
This issue impacted many, but Mediavine showed trustworthiness by swiftly addressing the problem and issuing a public statement.
### Update Grow WordPress Plugin Immediately
If you have the Grow by Mediavine plugin installed, update to version 2.12.3 immediately.
### More Resources:
– 7 Crucial WordPress Plugins for Blogs & Businesses
– 10 Reasons Why WordPress Is the Best CMS for SEO
