Structured Data Errors in Google Search Console: Easy Fixes

How search engines make use of structured data to properly interpret content, categorize your site correctly, and reward curated sites with better visibility is growing. With structured data done correctly, you can achieve rich snippets, star ratings, event information, and other eye-catching features on the search results page; however, many companies are not able to take advantage of these benefits because they have structured data-related errors on their websites. The good news is, it is easier to fix than many expect and Google Search Console has the ideal tool set to facilitate the process. 

This guide will explain what structured data is, why it matters, common issues with schema markup for businesses, and how to fix SEO structured data problems with instructions.

Why Structured Data Matters for SEO

In essence, structured data is extra code that provides additional context to search engines. With structured data, Google is not crawling a page with no context; it is recognizing instantly that a block of text is a recipe, a review, a job posting, a product, etc.

If you operate an e-commerce store, for example, you can call out product prices, availability, and ratings directly in search results. That style makes your products much more attractive to buyers, providing more chances for people to click through your listings. These types of structured data SEO examples illustrate the value of structured markup to improve visibility and credibility.

When structured data errors occur, however, you lose everything that structured data SEO can offer you. You may lose rich results completely and instead see text in the search results. In effect, you missed an opportunity to stand out and you could have done so if you kept your structured markup accurate and up to date.

Spotting Issues with Google Search Console

Google Search Console (GSC) should be your first stop when diagnosing and resolving Google Search Console issues with structured data. After you verify your site, you will see “Enhancements” or “Rich Results” reports that tell you where you have invalid markup. This is where you will learn what pages are impacted and what type of issues are being flagged.

GSC categorizes issues, errors and warnings to let you know what is happening and whether the problem is having a negative impact on feature opportunities.

• Errors – Issues that prevent Google from creating rich results.
• Warnings – These are not as severe, but you should fix it if possible and it has the potential to give your pages the optimal results.
• Valid items – Pages that have valid markup.

When you first start using GSC, I encourage you to check out an article on how to set up Google Search Console before you troubleshoot. If you have it set up correctly, you can collect data properly and address issues as they come in.

Common Structured Data Errors (and Their Fixes)

Structured data can feel overwhelming. But most SEO structured data problems stem from just a few of the same factors. Let’s review 2 common issues and how to resolve them.

1. Missing Required Fields

A lot of schema markup issues often happen because not all properties are defined. For example, a product markup might be missing an individual price or an article schema might not list the author. The bottom line is that when these required distinguishing features do not exist, then Google is unable to make sense of your content.

The Fix: Go through the schema.org documentation for your appropriate schema type and check all required fields are accounted for. Even if you may think some of the properties are self-explanatory, they must be explicitly defined in the markup.

2. Invalid or Incorrect Values

Structured data is dependent on format. If you keep a number or a date in the wrong format, structured data will misbehave.

The Fix: Take a second to check your value or make sure your value matches the schema.org format. In this example and product schema, prices must be a number (with different rules than just a string of text). Attention to detail in this context will prevent Google Search Console errors.

3. Syntax Errors

Poor syntax is one of the easiest and most prevalent SEO structured data problems. It takes a missing comma, a misplaced element, or wrong nesting and the markup is broken. 

The fix: Use the Google Rich Results Test, or other structured data testing tools first, before publication. These tools will show you where the error exists to make fixing it quick and easy. Syntax errors can be annoying, but are usually the easiest to correct. 

4. Errors vs Warnings

Not all of the messages in GSC require hyperventilation. A warning means that there is an optional way to improve your structured data; whereas an error requires fixing for rich results troubleshooting to be unlocked. Even with warnings, if we address them, it can still help with visibility, since most of the warnings will have prompted us to look at features we may want to consider turning on. 

The fix: Deal with errors first, then use warnings as a template for continual optimising. Look at them less as problems and more as opportunities.

Validating Fixes with Google Tools

After you’ve fixed all your schema markup issues or markup validation, the next step is to verify that these changes were made correctly, which is known as markup validation.

A great place to start would be Google’s Rich Results Test, so you can paste your page URL or code snippet to check the health of your structured data. If everything passes, then you go back to GSC and hit the “Validate Fix” button. Google will recrawl the affected webpages within your site and if things are correct, the issues you were seeing should slowly disappear from your dashboard.

Keep in mind that Google does not update right away. It can take days or sometimes weeks for changes to show up in the search results, so be patient.

Preventing Future Structured Data Errors

Fixing issues is only half the story. You need a plan moving forward for ongoing monitoring and anti-fragility.

In moving forward, consider these best practices:

• Run regular monthly checks in GSC, especially after major website redesigns or CMS & site updates.
• Stay on top of schema.org changes, as requirements can change and develop.
• Consider using automated tools that will let you know when there are rich results troubleshooting issues before they become critical.

And finally, if resources are still limited, consider hiring a professional search engine optimization service in Dubai to ensure their structured data is being correctly implemented and maintained.

Pro Tips for Long-Term Markup Health

• Examine competitors’ websites: Look at what these sites are earning in the way of rich results, troubleshooting and what is missing in your own strategy.
• Use multiple schema types: You can include article, product, and review schema on the same page (as appropriate) to help improve rich results.
• Stay human-friendly: Structured data is for machines but you shouldn’t lose clarity in your actual content. They both need to work together.

These habits will help prevent structured data errors from slipping back in, as well as maintain a sustainable SEO strategy.

Conclusion

Structured data is among the most powerful methods to maximize visibility in search listings, making any error a breakdown of opportunity. Fortunately, many schema markup issues are relatively simple to discover and fix using available Google tools. 

With continuous monitoring of your website’s errors in Google Search Console, ongoing validation of your structured markup, and regular time spent troubleshooting rich results, you will avoid many common SEO structured data problems and keep your website relevant. 

Structured data is sort of like a long-term investment. Once implemented correctly, structured data continues to work for you with minimal effort. By taking immediate action and steps today, you are assuring a more powerful and richer search result presence tomorrow.