Which structured data tools help search visibility?

28 October 2026 · By John Carlsson

The structured data tools to start with are free. Google's Rich Results Test shows the rich results a page can get, and the Schema Markup Validator checks any schema.org markup. Search Console then reports valid and invalid items across your site. A site-wide checker adds what those miss, such as properties that do not match the visible page.

The free official structured data tools

Of the free structured data tools, Google recommends starting with the Rich Results Test. It reads a live page or a code snippet, lists the structured data it finds, and tells you which Google rich results the page is eligible for, with a preview of how they may look in Search.

The Schema Markup Validator does a different job. It checks every type of schema.org markup on a page without Google-specific warnings. Use it for schema.org types that Google does not document for any Search feature, where the Rich Results Test has little to say.

Use both. A page can pass the validator and still not qualify for a rich result, because Google has its own required and recommended properties for each feature.

Search Console for the whole site

Testing one page at a time does not show you what Google has found across your site. The rich result reports in Search Console show a chart of valid and invalid structured data items over time for each supported rich result type. An invalid item has at least one critical issue that stops it appearing as a rich result.

Two limits are worth knowing. A report only appears for rich result types Google supports, and the reports show a sample of items rather than every page. If you use a type Google does not show as a rich result, Search Console will not report on it at all.

What changed in 2026

Google's documentation updates page records that FAQ rich results stopped appearing in Search on 7 May 2026, and the FAQ rich result documentation was removed on 15 June 2026. FAQPage is still valid schema.org markup and still describes your questions and answers accurately, but it no longer produces a special result in Google Search. Any tool that still promises FAQ rich results is out of date.

Google also says structured data is not required for its generative AI features and that there is no special markup to add for them. Its advice is to keep using structured data as part of normal SEO, because it supports rich results.

Where a site-wide checker helps

The official tools test what you give them. They do not crawl your site looking for pages where the markup is missing, duplicated, or says something different from the page itself, such as a price, an address or opening hours that no longer match the visible text. Google's general structured data guidelines say markup should describe content that is visible to readers on the page.

That is the gap a paid checker should fill. Before you pay for one, check that it fetches your live page rather than a cached copy, that it tells you which properties are required and which are only recommended for each type, and that it shows you the exact property and value that failed.

Our schema tools include a Schema Debugger that does this for any URL, including a check of whether the schema matches what the page says. Most runs cost 49p, with no subscription. The free Google tools above should still be your first check, because they show what Google itself reads.

For which audit report covers structured data in a full site audit, see which site audit report finds structured data issues.

Sources

Frequently asked questions

Is the Rich Results Test the same as the Schema Markup Validator?

No. They are different structured data tools. Google describes the Rich Results Test as its official tool for testing structured data and checking which rich results a page can get, with a preview of how they may look. The Schema Markup Validator checks all schema.org markup without Google-specific warnings, so it also covers types that have no rich result.

Do I need structured data to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode?

No. Google says structured data is not required for generative AI search and that there is no special schema.org markup to add for it. Google still recommends using structured data as part of your SEO because it helps a page be eligible for rich results in Google Search.