Google Search now supports what is called supports syntax graph merge. Essentially this means different syntaxes of structured data can now connect together as one. Google has updated validator.schema.org, the Google rich result test and “all Google ingestion” to support this.
What does this mean. Ryan Levering, a Software Engineer at Google explained, “so you could implement the Breadcrumb markup in JSON-LD but reference a WebPage node that’s in Microdata.” Do keep in mind, Google was able to process multiple structured data types on the same page before but this is a new method for better support.
“It was motivated by some platforms that needed to connect markup together that are generated by different libraries/plugins,” Ryan Levering.
Be careful. Google warned you should be very careful before using syntax graph merge. Saying, “somewhat advanced feature” and adding “please use carefully only when necessary.”
More details. Alyeda Solis was at the Google Search Central Live event in Zurich where this was announced, she posted this photo of the talk on X:
Why we care. If you need to use multiple syntaxes for structured data, now Google officially supports it through syntax graph merge. Just be super careful and test, test, test when you implement it. Once implemented and live, make sure to validate that your rich results continue to show up in the Google search results.
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