Fixing Product Schema Errors

Two rich results from one Product

Product is the schema.org type for anything you sell: a physical item, a digital download or a product variant. Google reads it for two separate rich results, and the Rich Results Test and Search Console report them separately:

A review site that writes about a product it does not sell should aim for product snippets only. A shop should aim for both. When a shop page fails merchant listings but passes product snippets, the gap is almost always image, a missing or badly formatted price, or the shipping and returns fields.

When Product is the wrong type

• A category or listing page with many products is not a Product. Mark up each product on its own page.
• A service such as a boiler repair or an SEO audit is a Service, not a Product, and does not get product rich results.
• A product that is not for sale anywhere, such as a discontinued model kept for reference, should not carry an offer with a price.

The fields Product needs

A correct block you can copy

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Product",
  "name": "Oak chopping board, large",
  "description": "Solid oak end-grain chopping board, 45 x 30 x 4 cm, oiled and ready to use.",
  "image": [
    "https://example.com/images/oak-board-1x1.jpg",
    "https://example.com/images/oak-board-4x3.jpg",
    "https://example.com/images/oak-board-16x9.jpg"
  ],
  "sku": "NW-OAK-L",
  "gtin13": "5012345678900",
  "brand": { "@type": "Brand", "name": "Northwood" },
  "offers": {
    "@type": "Offer",
    "url": "https://example.com/oak-board",
    "price": "34.00",
    "priceCurrency": "GBP",
    "availability": "https://schema.org/InStock",
    "itemCondition": "https://schema.org/NewCondition",
    "shippingDetails": {
      "@type": "OfferShippingDetails",
      "shippingRate": { "@type": "MonetaryAmount", "value": "3.95", "currency": "GBP" },
      "shippingDestination": { "@type": "DefinedRegion", "addressCountry": "GB" },
      "deliveryTime": {
        "@type": "ShippingDeliveryTime",
        "handlingTime": { "@type": "QuantitativeValue", "minValue": 0, "maxValue": 1, "unitCode": "DAY" },
        "transitTime": { "@type": "QuantitativeValue", "minValue": 1, "maxValue": 3, "unitCode": "DAY" }
      }
    },
    "hasMerchantReturnPolicy": {
      "@type": "MerchantReturnPolicy",
      "applicableCountry": "GB",
      "returnPolicyCategory": "https://schema.org/MerchantReturnFiniteReturnWindow",
      "merchantReturnDays": 30,
      "returnMethod": "https://schema.org/ReturnByMail",
      "returnFees": "https://schema.org/FreeReturn"
    }
  }
}
</script>

The errors you will see, and what each one means

Price, currency and availability

Price problems cause more failed merchant listings than anything else. The rules are strict because Google compares the markup with the price on the page and in your product feed.

Sale prices

Mark up the price the buyer pays now. If the page shows a sale price with the old price crossed out, price is the sale price. Google supports showing the old price through a priceSpecification with "priceType": "https://schema.org/StrikethroughPrice"; do not put the old price in price.

Prices with and without VAT

For UK shoppers, mark up the price including VAT, the same as the page shows. A trade site that shows prices before VAT should add a UnitPriceSpecification with valueAddedTaxIncluded set to false.

Out-of-stock products

Keep the Product and Offer, and change availability to https://schema.org/OutOfStock. Removing the offer altogether turns a valid merchant listing into an error on every out-of-stock page.

Variants, price ranges and several sellers

Sizes and colours

A product sold in several sizes or colours can be marked up as a ProductGroup with one Product per variant in hasVariant, and variesBy naming what changes, such as https://schema.org/size. Each variant has its own sku, offers and, where it differs, image. Give the group a productGroupID.

{
  "@type": "ProductGroup",
  "name": "Merino crew jumper",
  "productGroupID": "MCJ",
  "variesBy": ["https://schema.org/size", "https://schema.org/color"],
  "hasVariant": [
    { "@type": "Product", "sku": "MCJ-S-NAVY", "size": "S", "color": "Navy",
      "offers": { "@type": "Offer", "price": "65.00", "priceCurrency": "GBP", "availability": "https://schema.org/InStock" } },
    { "@type": "Product", "sku": "MCJ-M-NAVY", "size": "M", "color": "Navy",
      "offers": { "@type": "Offer", "price": "65.00", "priceCurrency": "GBP", "availability": "https://schema.org/OutOfStock" } }
  ]
}

Price ranges and marketplaces

When several sellers offer the same product, or the page lists a range without choosing a variant, use an AggregateOffer with lowPrice, highPrice, priceCurrency and offerCount. AggregateOffer works for product snippets; merchant listings need a single Offer the reader can buy on your page.

Fixing JSON that cannot be read

An unparsable block drops the whole Product, and every other type in the same script. Product names and descriptions are full of characters that break JSON when a template joins strings instead of encoding them.

• Inch and foot marks. 32" TV ends the string. Write 32\" TV or "32-inch TV".
• A trailing comma after the last field, often when a template skips an empty optional field.
• Curly quotes copied from a supplier's product description.
• Raw line breaks inside a description pulled from a rich text field.
• HTML in the description. Tags are allowed in the text but must not contain unescaped double quotes: <span class="x"> breaks the block.

The fix, step by step

Stopping it from coming back

• One Product per page. Pick the source with the most complete markup, usually the platform or a dedicated schema app, and switch Product output off everywhere else.
• Read from live data. Price, stock and ratings in the markup should come from the same fields as the visible page, so a sale or a sell-out updates both at once.
• Encode, never join. Output the block with a JSON encoder, so product names with quotes or inch marks cannot break it.
• Keep out-of-stock offers. Change availability instead of removing the offer.
• Watch both reports. Product snippets and Merchant listings report separately in Search Console. Check both after theme or app updates.