Google Announces New Structured Data Support for Forums and Profiles

Yesterday, on November 27, 2023, Google announced they’re supporting profile pages and discussion forum structured data to use in Google Search. 

These markups will be shown as a Google Search Feature to provide a first-person perspective from social media platforms, forums, and other communities. 

The ProfilePage markup will feature content creators, both people and organizations, who share first-hand knowledge and perspectives. It will show information about the creator, including:

• Name;
• Social handle;
• Profile picture;
• Follower count;
• Popularity of content.

This makeup is already in use with the Perspectives feature and Discussion and Forums feature. 

The DisscusionForumPosting markup will be used for any forum-style content, allowing Google to identify collective discussions across the web better. While the use of the markup does not guarantee visibility, forums that use this markup will be considered for appearing in Perpectives and Discussion and Forums. 

For those who already use the Q&A markup for their forums, Google has stated that they are updating the structured data documentation to align with the new discussion forum guidelines. 

To monitor your forums and profile page markups, Google is launching a rich results report in Search Console to show errors, warnings, and other information related to the new markups. You can also test these new markups in the Rich Results Test to help validate.

Why does this matter?

Content creators now have more control over how their content appears in the search results. Those using the new markups may see more visibility in the SERPs, better engagement, and audience growth.