How to Test Your Website’s Structured Data in Google

Three tools, three questions

• Google’s Rich Results Test answers whether a page can get a rich result in search: star ratings, a product price, breadcrumbs.
• The Schema Markup Validator answers whether the markup is written correctly at all — by all the vocabulary rules, including for types Google doesn’t display specially.
• Search Console reports answer what Google has found across the whole site and where errors repeat.

You usually need all three: the first two for a specific page right now, the third for monitoring the whole site over time.

Step 1. Rich Results Test

1. Open the Rich Results Test.
2. Paste the page URL and run the test. If the page isn’t published yet, you can paste its HTML code.
3. Look at the list of detected items. An item without errors is eligible for a rich result. An error means it isn’t. A warning means it is eligible but missing recommended properties.

The tool only shows types for which Google has rich results. You won’t see Service or WebPage markup there. That isn’t an error: Google simply has no special display for them in search results.

Step 2. Schema Markup Validator

1. Open validator.schema.org.
2. Paste the URL or code of the page.
3. On the right you’ll see a tree of every detected entity with its properties, plus a list of errors and warnings.

This is the place to check that entities are linked correctly: for example, that a service has a provider and a product has an offer with a price. If a property doesn’t belong to the chosen type, the validator will tell you.

Step 3. Search Console reports

When Google finds supported markup on your site, Search Console shows a report for each type — for example, breadcrumbs or products. They show how many pages have valid markup, how many have errors and which errors repeat. After fixing, you can click Validate fix in the report, and Google will recheck the affected pages.

If your site isn’t in Search Console yet, start with this guide.

Common errors

• The markup doesn’t match what visitors see. One price in the markup, another on the page; reviews in the markup that aren’t on the page. Google requires marked-up data to be visible on the page.
• Required properties are missing. For example, a product offer without a price or availability.
• Two sets of markup for the same thing. The CMS adds its own Organization markup, an SEO plugin adds another, and the page ends up with two different “companies”. Keep one source.
• JSON-LD syntax errors: a stray comma, unescaped quotes. The validator shows the line with the error.
• Markup for results that no longer exist. Since 2023, Google shows FAQ rich results mainly for authoritative government and health sites, and has stopped showing HowTo rich results altogether. Such markup does no harm, but it won’t bring stars to your listing.
• Expecting a guaranteed result. Correct markup makes a page eligible for a rich result but doesn’t guarantee it: Google decides whether to show it.

In short

1. Rich Results Test — is the page eligible for enhanced display in search?
2. Schema Markup Validator — is the markup valid as a whole?
3. Search Console — where do errors repeat across the site?
4. Marked-up data must match what’s visible on the page.
5. One entity type, one source of markup.

If your site has no structured data or it contains errors, we can add structured data for Google rich results: company, services, products and breadcrumbs — tested in all three tools. For online shops, product markup also helps with Merchant Center disapprovals.