Why is my structured data being marked as erroneous?

Search Console marks structured data as erroneous when an item is missing a required property, contains invalid values or breaks the syntax of the markup. Such items are invalid and not eligible for rich results. Missing recommended properties are not errors; they only appear as suggestions to improve the item.

Google supports JSON-LD, Microdata and RDFa and recommends JSON-LD for most sites. Microdata and RDFa remain valid as long as the markup is correct. Which properties are required depends on the feature, for example product snippets, breadcrumbs or events, and is described in Google’s documentation for each feature.

Why is my structured data marked as invalid?

• Required property missing. Every rich result type has required properties. If one is missing, the item is invalid. Google’s quality guidelines state clearly that items missing required properties are not eligible for rich results.
• Wrong value or data type. A date in the wrong format, a price with a currency symbol instead of a number, or a relative URL where an absolute one is expected can make a property invalid.
• Syntax error. A missing comma or bracket in JSON-LD makes the entire block unreadable. This often happens when templates or plugins insert values that break the JSON.
• Markup does not match the page. Structured data must describe content that is visible on the page. Marked-up reviews, prices or FAQs that users cannot see violate the guidelines and can lead to a manual action.
• Blocked pages. If Googlebot cannot crawl a page because of robots.txt, noindex or a login, Google cannot read the markup either.

How do I find the error?

1. Open the rich result report for the affected type in Search Console. The table Why items are invalid lists critical issues; Improve item appearance lists non-critical ones.
2. Click an issue to see example URLs. Note that the report counts items, not pages, and one page can contain several items.
3. Test an example URL with the Rich Results Test. It shows which property is missing or invalid and where it sits in the code.
4. Use the URL Inspection tool to check what Google found on the indexed version of the page. For general schema.org markup that does not belong to a Google feature, the Schema Markup Validator helps.

Our Meta Tag & Schema Inspector also shows which structured data a page outputs.

How do I fix it and get it confirmed?

1. Fix the source. Correct the template, plugin or code that generates the markup, not individual pages. Otherwise the error returns with the next page.
2. Test again. Check several affected URLs in the Rich Results Test until no critical issues remain.
3. Start validation. In the Search Console issue report, start the validation. Google then recrawls the affected pages; the state of the validation is shown in the report. This can take some time depending on how many pages are affected.
4. Keep monitoring. Check the reports regularly after theme updates, plugin updates or relaunches, because these often change the markup.

Fix critical issues first, always at the template level, and test with the Rich Results Test before starting validation in Search Console. Only mark up what users can actually see on the page.

Even error-free markup does not guarantee a rich result. Google decides for each search whether to show one, and it has also retired some rich result types in recent years. Markup for those types does not cause errors, but no longer creates a special display.

Sources

• Google Search Central: General structured data guidelines
• Google Search Central: Introduction to structured data markup
• Search Console Help: Rich result report overview
• Google: Rich Results Test

Want error-free structured data that stays correct after every update? We check your markup, fix templates and monitor the reports in Search Console. Book a free intro call or read more about our search engine optimisation.