Google’s John Mueller has explained that the search engine might consider supporting new types of structured data based on their usage across websites.
When deciding on which type of structured data to support in the future, Google evaluates how widely it is being used by websites.
If a currently unsupported structured data type sees broad adoption, Google might choose to incorporate it into search results.
On the other hand, if a particular type of structured data is scarcely used, Google will probably not prioritize it.
This issue was discussed in a recent Google Webmaster Central hangout where this question was posed:
“Is the item type ‘service’ supported by Google for reviews and ratings? The review guidelines mention services, but the supported item types don’t include services.”
In response, Mueller indicated that Google’s developer site is the definitive source for information on supported item types.
The developer site is regularly updated, so its information about whether a structured data element is supported or not is current.
However, site owners are not discouraged from using certain types of structured data just because they’re not officially supported.
If Google notices that websites are adopting an unsupported structured data type, it could affect Google’s decision to support it in the future.
The entire question and response can be viewed in the video below (starting at 45:30):
“I realize we support a variety of structured data types, and it can sometimes be challenging to identify which ones fit your particular case. Generally, we aim to be as clear as possible in our guidelines regarding what we support.
That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t employ anything that we don’t currently support. It’s always somewhat of a chicken and egg situation: if we consider the next type of structured data to support and find that no one is using it online, we might look elsewhere.
So if you believe that you need to use a specific type of structured data for your particular case, then feel free to use it even if we don’t currently use it as a visible element in search results.”
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