New properties for virtual, postponed, and canceled events
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Tuesday, March 17, 2020
In the current environment and status of COVID-19 around the world, many events are being
canceled, postponed, or moved to an online-only format. Google wants to show users the latest,
most accurate information about your events in this fast-changing environment, and so we've
added some new, optional properties to our
developer documentation
to help. These properties apply to all regions and languages. This is one part of our overall efforts in
schema updates to
support publishers and users. Here are some important tips on keeping Google up to date on your events.
Update the status of the event
The schema.org eventStatus property sets the status of the event, particularly when the event has been canceled, postponed,
or rescheduled. This information is helpful because it allows Google to show users the current
status of an event, instead of dropping the event from the event search experience altogether.
If the event has been canceled: Set the
eventStatus
property to EventCancelled
and keep the original date in the
startDate of
the event.
If the event has been postponed (but the date isn't known yet): Keep the original date in the
startDate of
the event until you know when the event will take place and update the
eventStatus
to EventPostponed.
The startDate
property is required to help identify the unique event, and we need the date original
startDate
until you know the new date. Once you know the new date information, change the
eventStatus to
EventRescheduled
and update the
startDate and
endDate with the
new date information.
If the event has moved from in-person to online-only: Optionally update the
eventStatus
field to indicate the change with EventMovedOnline.
For more information on how to implement the eventStatus property, refer to the
developer documentation.
Mark events as online only
More events are shifting to online only, and we're actively working on a way to show this
information to people on Google Search. If your event is happening only online, make sure to
use the following properties:
[null,null,[],[[["\u003cp\u003eGoogle has added new schema properties to help event organizers keep users informed about event changes related to COVID-19, such as cancellations, postponements, and online transitions.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eEvent organizers should update their event's schema markup with the appropriate \u003ccode\u003eeventStatus\u003c/code\u003e value to reflect cancellations, postponements, or reschedulings.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eIf an event is moved online, use the \u003ccode\u003eVirtualLocation\u003c/code\u003e type and the \u003ccode\u003eOnlineEventAttendanceMode\u003c/code\u003e property in the schema.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eAfter updating the schema markup, notify Google of the changes through submitting your sitemap or URLs for faster indexing and reflection in search results.\u003c/p\u003e\n"]]],["Google is providing guidance on updating event information in response to COVID-19's impact on in-person gatherings. Key actions include using the `eventStatus` property to indicate if an event is canceled (`EventCancelled`), postponed (`EventPostponed`), or rescheduled (`EventRescheduled`). For online events, use `VirtualLocation` and `OnlineEventAttendanceMode`. When updating event information, it's crucial to also update Google through sitemaps or direct URL submissions for search engine visibility.\n"],null,["# New properties for virtual, postponed, and canceled events\n\nTuesday, March 17, 2020\n\n\nIn the current environment and status of COVID-19 around the world, many events are being\ncanceled, postponed, or moved to an online-only format. Google wants to show users the latest,\nmost accurate information about your events in this fast-changing environment, and so we've\nadded some new, optional properties to our\n[developer documentation](/search/docs/appearance/structured-data/event)\nto help. These properties apply to all regions and languages. This is one part of our overall efforts in\n[schema updates](https://blog.schema.org/2020/03/schema-for-coronavirus-special) to\nsupport publishers and users. Here are some important tips on keeping Google up to date on your events.\n\nUpdate the status of the event\n------------------------------\n\n\nThe schema.org `eventStatus` property sets the status of the event, particularly when the event has been canceled, postponed,\nor rescheduled. This information is helpful because it allows Google to show users the current\nstatus of an event, instead of dropping the event from the event search experience altogether.\n\n- **If the event has been canceled** : Set the [`eventStatus`](/search/docs/appearance/structured-data/event#eventstatus) property to [`EventCancelled`](https://schema.org/EventCancelled) and keep the original date in the [`startDate`](/search/docs/appearance/structured-data/event#startdate) of the event.\n- **If the event has been postponed (but the date isn't known yet)** : Keep the original date in the [`startDate`](/search/docs/appearance/structured-data/event#startdate) of the event until you know when the event will take place and update the [`eventStatus`](/search/docs/appearance/structured-data/event#eventstatus) to [`EventPostponed`](https://schema.org/EventPostponed). The [`startDate`](/search/docs/appearance/structured-data/event#startdate) property is required to help identify the unique event, and we need the date original [`startDate`](/search/docs/appearance/structured-data/event#startdate) until you know the new date. Once you know the new date information, change the `eventStatus` to [`EventRescheduled`](https://schema.org/EventRescheduled) and update the [`startDate`](/search/docs/appearance/structured-data/event#startdate) and [`endDate`](/search/docs/appearance/structured-data/event#enddate) with the new date information.\n- **If the event has been rescheduled to a later date** : Update the [`startDate\n `](/search/docs/appearance/structured-data/event#startdate) and [`endDate`](/search/docs/appearance/structured-data/event#enddate) with the relevant new dates. Optionally, you can also mark the [`eventStatus`](/search/docs/appearance/structured-data/event#eventstatus) field as [`EventRescheduled`](https://schema.org/EventRescheduled) and add the [`previousStartDate`](/search/docs/appearance/structured-data/event#previous-start-date).\n- **If the event has moved from in-person to online-only** : Optionally update the [`eventStatus`](/search/docs/appearance/structured-data/event#eventstatus) field to indicate the change with `EventMovedOnline`.\n\n\nFor more information on how to implement the `eventStatus` property, refer to the\n[developer documentation](/search/docs/appearance/structured-data/event#eventstatus).\n\nMark events as online only\n--------------------------\n\n\nMore events are shifting to online only, and we're actively working on a way to show this\ninformation to people on Google Search. If your event is happening only online, make sure to\nuse the following properties:\n\n- Set the location to the [`VirtualLocation`](/search/docs/appearance/structured-data/event#virtual-location) type.\n- Set the [`eventAttendanceMode`](/search/docs/appearance/structured-data/event#event-attendance-mode) property to [`OnlineEventAttendanceMode`](https://schema.org/OnlineEventAttendanceMode).\n\n\nFor more information on how to implement the `VirtualLocation` type,\nrefer to the [developer documentation](/search/docs/appearance/structured-data/event#virtual-location).\n| **Note** : You can start using `VirtualLocation` and `eventAttendanceMode` even though they are still under development on Schema.org.\n\nUpdate Google when your event changes\n-------------------------------------\n\n\nAfter you make changes to your markup, make sure you\n[update Google](/search/docs/guides/submit-URLs). We recommend that you\n[make your sitemap available automatically\nthrough your server](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0TPINzAVf0). This is the best way to make sure that your new and updated content is\nhighlighted to search engines as quickly as possible.\n\n\nIf you have any questions, let us know through the\n[Webmasters forum](https://support.google.com/webmasters/community) or on\n[Twitter](https://twitter.com/googlesearchc).\n\n\nPosted by Emily Fifer, Event Search Product Manager"]]
