Events Schema

Broken
Event Schema

Your client's events exist. Google won't surface them in the Events pack.

Where to find it: Google Rich Results Test > Event > Errors & Warnings

What It Is

Event schema communicates the details of an upcoming event — name, date, time, location, organizer, and ticket URL — in machine-readable format. Correctly implemented Event schema enables appearances in Google's Events rich results: a prominent carousel above organic search results that shows event details, dates, and ticket links. For clients who run events — conferences, webinars, concerts, classes, local events — this is a highly visible placement that competes with dedicated event platforms like Eventbrite. Broken Event schema means events exist on the site but receive none of this enhanced visibility.

Why It Matters

Google's Events rich results carousel appears above all organic results for event-related queries. A client who implements Event schema correctly can appear in this carousel alongside or above results from established event platforms — for queries directly related to their events. This is significant real estate for event organizers, venues, and any business that runs regular events. For webinar-driven lead generation businesses, correct Event schema can directly increase webinar registrations by surfacing events to users actively searching for relevant content.

Root Diagnostics

Common Causes

Understanding why this failure occurs is the first step to fixing it permanently.

Missing startDate in ISO 8601 Format

The startDate property is either missing or formatted incorrectly. Google requires ISO 8601 format with timezone: 2025-09-15T09:00:00-05:00. Plain text dates ('September 15, 2025') are rejected.

Missing or Incomplete location Property

The location property is missing or uses a plain text string instead of a Place entity with address. Google requires a structured Place object with PostalAddress for in-person events.

eventStatus Not Set for Online Events

Online events are missing the eventAttendanceMode property (OnlineEventAttendanceMode) and the location property for online events should use VirtualLocation with url — not a physical PostalAddress.

Past Events Not Removed or Updated

Event schema remains on pages for events that have already passed. Google filters out past events from the Events rich results carousel. Leaving expired event schema active doesn't cause a penalty but wastes implementation and creates confusion in Search Console.

Interactive Standard Operating Procedure

The Fix Blueprint (Interactive SOP)

Check off each step to monitor your implementation progress live!

Implementation Progress: 0% Completed (0/7)

1. Audit All Event Pages for Schema Presence

Use Screaming Frog or a site crawl to identify all event pages on the site. Run a representative sample through the Rich Results Test. Document which events have no schema, which have errors, and which are valid.

2. Build Complete Event Schema

For each event, create Event schema including: name, startDate (ISO 8601 with timezone), endDate, description, url, organizer (Organization with name and url), location (Place with name and address for in-person, VirtualLocation with url for online), and offers (Offer with price and url for ticketed events).

3. Set eventAttendanceMode for Every Event

Every Event schema should include eventAttendanceMode. For in-person events: OfflineEventAttendanceMode. For online: OnlineEventAttendanceMode. For hybrid: MixedEventAttendanceMode. This property became required after COVID and is now expected on all event schema.

4. Set eventStatus for Scheduled Events

Include eventStatus: EventScheduled for upcoming events. Use EventPostponed, EventRescheduled, or EventCancelled as needed. This allows Google to display accurate event status in rich results and prevents confusion in search listings.

5. Handle Recurring Events Correctly

For recurring events (weekly classes, monthly meetups), create separate Event schema instances for each occurrence rather than a single schema block. Each occurrence should have its specific startDate and endDate.

6. Remove or noindex Past Event Pages

For events that have passed, either remove the page, redirect it to an upcoming events page, or add noindex. Past event pages with expired schema add no value and dilute the site's event schema quality signals.

7. Validate and Monitor

Run all event pages through the Rich Results Test after implementation. Monitor Google Search for the client's event names to confirm Event carousel appearances. Check Search Console Rich Results report for Event status.

Tools

Google's Rich Results Test
Free (search.google.com/test/rich-results) | Tests Event schema completeness and shows a preview of how the event will appear in the Events rich results carousel
Google Search Console Rich Results Report
Free | Monitors Event schema status across all event pages and surfaces date format and location errors
Schema.org Event Documentation
Free (schema.org/Event) | The authoritative reference for all supported Event properties and their required formats — essential reading for online event markup

Time to Fix

1 hour

To audit all event pages for schema errors

Hours

Per event or per template for recurring events

Pro Tip

Online events need VirtualLocation — not a physical address with 'Online' in the text.

The most common Event schema error for webinar and online event clients is putting 'Online' or 'Virtual' in the physical address field of a Place object. Google rejects this. Online events need eventAttendanceMode: OnlineEventAttendanceMode and a location of type VirtualLocation with a url property pointing to the event registration or streaming page. Getting this right is the difference between appearing in the Events rich results carousel and being silently excluded from it.

Broken Event Schema