When utilizing Google Search Console to monitor your website’s search performance, you encounter an error notification indicating a schema validation issue. This prompts the following questions: What does this error signify, and how can it be rectified?
Our comprehensive guide below provides all the necessary information to understand these errors and learn how to resolve schema validation issues for your website.
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Schema validation errors arise due to formatting inaccuracies in your schema data. This data is crucial for search engines to grasp the context of your webpage. Without proper formatting, Google may struggle to interpret this context.
Various schema markup types can be employed on your pages, such as:
Product specifications: Specific details, such as color, capacity, price, or style
Product offers: Exclusive deals or discounts on products
Local business information: Address, contact details, and operating hours
Ratings: Star or scale ratings for your product or service
Reviews: Number of reviews for a product
Any of these schema markup types can lead to errors.
Understanding the nature of schema validation errors is crucial. The next question is, “Why does it matter?” Fixing these errors is vital for your business as schema assists search engines in comprehending your page content.
When search engines grasp the data associated with your page, they can display rich snippets in search results, enhancing your click-through rate (CTR) and attracting more visitors to your website.
Errors in your schema may lead to Google’s inability to read the data, resulting in a lower CTR due to the absence of rich snippets in search results. Although these errors do not directly impact SEO rankings, they can indirectly influence rankings by reducing CTR.
Moreover, your business may miss out on traffic and potential leads due to fewer clicks on your listings.
Before addressing the resolution of schema validation errors, it’s essential to identify them. Google Search Console is an excellent resource for detecting these errors.
When schema errors are present, Google Search Console will notify you. You can usually find these errors upon logging into your account. Clicking on the error notification will provide the source, allowing you to fix it.
An alternative option is to utilize Google’s Schema Markup Validator. This tool enables you to test your schema markup, swiftly identifying errors. It is a valuable tool for preempting schema errors in Google Search Console.
Encountering schema validation errors in Google Search Console is not a cause for concern. There are multiple methods to resolve these errors and enable your website to display enticing rich data that encourages clicks:
1. Invalid values
One of the most common schema validation errors is the invalid values error, typically caused by a missing value in a field.
Resolving this error requires adding the appropriate value to the field within your code. For instance, if you’re using the location schema markup and only included “Seattle” without the state (Washington), you would need to input the state to fix the error.
Alternatively, if a specific field causing an error is unnecessary for your schema markup, removing it can prevent this error.
2. Price error
When including prices in your schema, ensure correct formatting. Prices should be entered as 00.00 without the dollar sign. For example, if your item is $59.99, you would input it as 59.99.
Including the dollar sign might explain why you received the error.
3. Missing tags
When writing schema for your website, ensure proper coding. Missing opening or closing tags will result in a schema validation error.
The best approach to resolve this issue is to revisit your coding and identify the missing tag, then input it.
4. Missing best or worst value
When using aggregate rating schema, you must enter a span for the highest and lowest possible ratings. Missing one or both will trigger a schema validation error.
The high and low boundaries for your aggregate rating schema can vary depending on the content. For product ratings, the low is typically one, and the high is five. Conversely, movie ratings usually have a low of one and a high of 10.
Ensuring proper boundaries is crucial to avoid further schema validation errors.
Now that you understand how to fix schema validation errors, you may feel apprehensive about addressing the issue on your own. If you require assistance, the experts at WebFX can help.
Our SEO services can assist you in managing all aspects of your business’s search presence, from keyword optimization to content creation and error resolution. We handle it all.
Our SEO campaigns have driven over $10 billion in revenue and over 24 million leads in the past five years, helping clients achieve growth and reach their goals. Let us help you drive more qualified traffic that translates into revenue for your business.
Contact us online or call us at 888-601-5359 to speak with a strategist today!
