How do you test and validate schema markup?

16 October 2026 · By John Carlsson

Test schema markup with Google's Rich Results Test, which checks it against Google's rich result requirements, and the Schema Markup Validator, which checks any schema.org type against general usage. Both read JSON-LD, Microdata and RDFa. After publishing, confirm Google found the markup with the URL Inspection tool and monitor the rich result reports in Search Console.

Which tools validate schema markup?

Two free tools cover almost every check you need, and they answer different questions.

The Rich Results Test checks your markup against Google's requirements and shows which rich result types a page can produce. Google recommends starting here, and in some cases the tool can preview how a feature may look in Search.
The Schema Markup Validator checks any schema.org type against general schema.org usage, without Google's feature-specific warnings. The schema.org announcement explains that it also warns when types and properties are combined in unusual ways.

Both tools read JSON-LD, Microdata and RDFa. The older Structured Data Testing Tool has been retired. Google removed its Google-specific checks and moved the general tool to the Schema Markup Validator, which schema.org describes as its successor.

How do you find the schema on any website?

Paste the full URL of a public page into either tool. The Rich Results Test help page explains that the page must be reachable by an anonymous user, and that you can switch from URL to Code to test a snippet instead. You can also choose between a smartphone and desktop user agent.

You can also read the markup yourself. Google's introduction to structured data says JSON-LD sits in a script tag in the page's head or body, separate from the visible text. View the page source and search for application/ld+json:

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Organization",
  "name": "Example Ltd",
  "url": "https://www.example.com/"
}
</script>

Google can also read JSON-LD that JavaScript adds after the page loads, so if it is not in the raw source, check the rendered result in a testing tool.

How do you read the Rich Results Test results?

The test lists each rich result type it detected and labels items as valid, valid with warnings or invalid. You can expand an item and click a description to open the code explorer, which highlights the related code in the rendered source.

The tool fetches pages as Google-InspectionTool. If robots.txt rules or a noindex directive block the page, it cannot be tested. If images, CSS or scripts fail to load, you will see warnings, and because the loaded resources can vary, results can differ between runs. Check the Crawling section first when a result looks wrong.

How do you check that schema keeps working after launch?

Testing during development is only the first step. Once a page is live, Google suggests using the URL Inspection tool in Search Console to confirm Google has found the structured data. After that, monitor the rich result status reports, because template or serving changes can break markup that used to be valid.

Also check the content by hand. Google's general structured data guidelines say markup must describe content that readers can see on the page. Testing tools catch most technical errors but cannot judge quality issues such as hidden or misleading content.

If you want a second view of a page's markup, the AI Web Page SEO schema tools can check what a page contains.

Why does valid schema not always show a rich result?

Google does not guarantee that structured data will appear in results, even when the Rich Results Test shows it is correct. Its systems choose the result type they consider best for each searcher. Some features also change over time. According to Google's documentation updates, FAQ rich results stopped appearing in Google Search on 7 May 2026, although FAQPage is still valid schema.org markup. Validation tells you the markup is correct. It does not promise a particular appearance in Search.

Sources

Frequently asked questions

Is the Structured Data Testing Tool still available?

No. Google removed the Google-specific checks from the Structured Data Testing Tool and moved the general tool to the Schema Markup Validator at validator.schema.org. Schema.org describes the validator as its successor. Use the Rich Results Test to check Google's requirements for rich results, and the Schema Markup Validator to check any schema.org type against general usage.

Which structured data format does Google recommend?

Google supports JSON-LD, Microdata and RDFa, and says all three are fine when the markup is valid and follows the documentation for each feature. It recommends JSON-LD as the easiest to set up and maintain, especially at scale, because it sits in its own script tag separate from the visible text. Google can also read JSON-LD that is added to the page by JavaScript.