On October 6th, Google announced new error reporting for Rich Result status reports in Google Search Console. This change was intended to help SEOs with resolving rich result errors:
The Rich Results status reports identify any errors in your structured data that could be preventing content from being eligible for rich results in search engine page results.
What has changed in the Google Search Console rich results status reports?
Google Search Console is not reporting on any new errors related to rich result eligibility. The recent change is specifically adding more information about errors it already checks for, including:
- Invalid attribute string length
- Invalid attribute enum value
- Invalid object
- Type conversion failed
- Out of numeric range
What’s exciting is that these additional details may not have been exposed in Google’s now deprecated Structured Data Testing Tool (SDTT), which has been replaced with the Schema Markup Validator (SMV). Google is helping to make these errors more actionable for SEOs, so that we can ensure that our structured data is valid and eligible for rich results.
That being said, eligibility does not mean that Google will always reward your content with a rich snippet, but you are setting your content up for the opportunity to be awarded with one. You’re doing all you can from a technical standpoint, but you should also focus on building more credibility with search engines to set your website up for long-term success. For example, by increasing your E-E-A-T (experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness), Google will start to understand how your website and business overall relates to entities in its knowledge graph. This streamlines Google’s ability to match a user’s search query to the most relevant content from your site!
We keep an eye on updates to Google’s structured data documentation so that you don’t have to! If you’re looking for help with your structured data implementation, we’d love to hear from you. We help you go beyond the fundamentals of search engine optimization, leveraging structured data to showcase your unique value in search. In a rapidly changing SEO environment, we introduce agility to your digital team, saving you time and resources for managing other aspects of your business portfolio. We deliver to your online business goals using our structured data expertise and advanced technology.
Are you ready to unleash the power of structured data?
Martha van Berkel is the co-founder and CEO of Schema App, an end-to-end Semantic Schema Markup solution provider based in Ontario, Canada. She focuses on helping SEO teams globally understand the value of Schema Markup and how they can leverage Schema Markup to grow search performance and develop a reusable content knowledge graph that drives innovation. Before starting Schema App, Martha was a Senior Manager responsible for online support tools at Cisco. She is a Mom of two energetic kids, loves to row, and drinks bulletproof coffee.