Google Rich Results Test Tool | New Structured Data Validator

These featured results, previously called “rich snippets” or “rich cards” are enhanced search results that contain additional visual or ... HowtouseGoogleRichResultsTestTool KevinWhitbeck August6,2020 SEO Justaboutayearago,inJulyof2019,wepostedablogaboutusingGoogle’sStructuredDataTestingTool.Theveryfirstsentenceofthatpostatthattimestatedthefollowing: “Googleisconstantlyprovidingnewtoolsanddatatohelpinformyourmarketingdecisions.” Well,it’snowAugust2020andevenwithallthethingswe’vehadtoconfrontsofarthisyear(asasocietyandasdigitalmarketers),Googlehascontinuedtomakechangestoitsplatforms,searchenginealgorithms,andtoolstheyprovideforus.OnJuly7th,2020,GoogleannouncedthattheywereupgradingtheRichResultsTestToolandtakingitoutofbeta. TheupdatedRichResultsTestToolwillnowfullysupportallGoogle’srichresultfeatures!Excitingright?LikemanyofthoseworkinginSEO,yes,I’mexcitedforanewtoolbutI’malsosadtohearthattheStructuredDataTestingToolisbeingdeprecated.Itwassogood! DifferencesbetweentheRichResultsTestandtheStructuredDataTestingTool MuchliketheStructuredDataTestingTool,userscantestandvalidatestructureddata,alsoknownasschemamarkup.HereyoucantestspecificcodesnippetsorjustentertheURLofalivewebpageandallofthecodewillbereviewed.Bothtoolsservethesebasictestingfunctions,however,theRichResultsTesthaschangedthingsupabit.Thereisanupdatedlayoutwhichincludesnewfeatures,suchasitsalignmentwithSearchConsole’sEnhancedReportsanditsimprovedabilitytoparsedynamicallycreatedstructuredmarkupcode.Therearesomelimitationsinthetool’sfunctionalityaswell,we’lldiscussthoseinabitthough. Fromtheget-gothingsareprettysimilar. New vs. Old Gettingstartedisprettysimpleforboth,choosethemethodinwhichyouwanttotestyourstructureddata(codeorURL)andsubmit.Aquickandseeminglysmalldifferencehereistheabilitytotestandrenderformobileordesktop,anewfeaturefortheRichResultsTest.Dependingonhowyourwebsitetrafficentersyoursite(ie.moreviamobiledeviceordesktop)thisoptioncanbebeneficialintestingforaudiencetypes. Theresultsprovidedarewherethebiggerchangesbetweenthetwotoolsare. Old vs. New Thenewresultlayoutisseparatedintomultiplesectionstoimproveusability. Thefirst,givingyoudirectnoticeifyourcodeiseligibleforrichresultsinsteadofjustidentifyingthedifferentschematypesandwarningsorerrors.Here,youcanusethe“previewresults”optiontoseehowitwouldlookinsearchresultsorviewtherenderedHTMLcode. Thesecondallowsyoutoviewthe“DetectedItems”andquicklyidentifythespecificSchemaTypesfromyourcodethatareeligibleforRichResultsinGoogle.ItisimportanttonotethatthisisexactlywhatyouwouldbeabletoseeinGoogleSearchConsole,creatingconsistencyinoutputacrosstheGoogletools. Thebiggestdifferenceintheresultsisthatnow,insteadofbeingabletotestandvalidateallschemamarkup(ofwhichthereareover800fromhttps://schema.org)fromaliveURLtest,youonlybenotifiedofeligibilityanddataparsingerrorsforthesupportedschematypesusedinGoogle’sfeaturedRichResults.Thesefeaturedresults,previouslycalled“richsnippets”or“richcards”areenhancedsearchresultsthatcontainadditionalvisualorinteractivefeatureswhichprovideinformationspecifictotheuser’ssearchquery.DetailedinformationabouteachtypecanbefoundinGoogle’sgalleryofsearchfeatures. Thosetypesareasfollows: Article Book Breadcrumb Carousel Course CriticReview Dataset EmployerAggregateRating EstimatedSalary Event FAQ Factcheck How-to ImageLicenseMetadata(beta) Jobposting Jobtraining(beta) Localbusiness Logo Movie Podcast Product Q&A Recipe Reviewsnippet Sitelinkssearchbox Softwareapp(beta) Speakable Subscriptionandpaywalledcontent SpecialAnnouncement Video Thislisthasbeenevolvingoverthepastcoupleyears,andinmyopinion,willcontinuetodosoasGooglecontinuesitsquesttoimproveuserexperience.CheckbackoftenforchangesandupdatestoexistingRichResultsstructureddataorfornewadditions. Whatdoesstructureddatadoforawebsite? Schema(structureddata)isusedbysearchenginestogathersemanticinformationaboutthecontentsofyourwebsite.Byincludingadditionalschematypesonyoursite,youareteachingthesearchenginesaboutwhatthecontentonyoursitemeans.Ithelpsthemtobettercrawl,organize,anddisplayyourcontentasyouaretellingthemexactlywhatthecontentonthepageis,insteadofleavingituptothemtodeterminewhattherawdatais. ThespecifictypesofschemadiscussedaboveareonesthatGooglerecognizesandusestoprovideenhancedsearchresultstousers.Thisdoesnotmeanthatwebsitescannotorshouldnotutilizeotherschematypesnotincludedinthesearchgallery.Infact,justtheopposite.YoushouldbeusingotherschemabecauseGooglewillnodoubtupdatetheirlistofeligiblemarkupwhichcouldbenefityoursiteimmediatelyonceitisrecognized. Becausesearchenginesareusingmachinelearning(orAI)andtheyarestilllearningaboutnaturallanguageandwhatthequerieswemakeasusersactuallymean,itisevidentwestillneedtohelpthemalongintheprocess.Thesemanticinformationderivedfromstructureddataisanimportantelementinteachingthesearchengineshowyourcontentisrelevanttoauserquery,evenifthoseschematypesarenoteligibleforrichresults. TestingSchemawiththeRichResultsTestTool BacktotheRichResultsTesttoolandhowtouseit.ThepurposeofthistoolistotesttheRichResultsupportedschematypesusedonyoursitetoensureproperimplementationandthatyourpageiseligibletoshowinrichresults. WhethertestingacodesnippetoraliveURLyouwillbenotifiedifthestructuredmarkuponyourcontentiseligibleandifthereareanywarningsorerrorsduetomissinginformationfieldsoftheschematype.Itwillalsonotifyyouofanydataparsingerrors,meaninganerrorinyourcodeformatting,herethetoolwillidentifywhatlineofcodeisaffectedsoyoucanquicklygoinandidentifywhatneedstobefixed. Technicalnote:TherehavebeencomplaintsthatthistooldoesnotallowinlineeditingforvalidationofschemamarkupandthatitwillnotreadallschemacodeonaliveURL.Thisisnotquitecorrect.Youcanstilltestandvalidateschematypesthatarenoteligibleforrichresults,youjusthavetodosousingthe“code”optionatthestart.Anydataparsingerrorsthatmayappearinthecodeandcauseanerrorwillbeidentifiedandyoucaneditthecodeinlinewithinthetooltoretestandvalidateupdates. Withauserinterfacethatismoremodernandeasiertoworkwith,testingyoursite’seligibilitytobeshowninRichResultshasbecomealittleeasierwiththeRichResultsTestingtool. ItispossibleforGoogletoincludeyoursiteinitsrichresultswithoutstructureddataandusingitdoesnotguaranteethatyouwillbeshowninthem,butitdoesgiveyouabetterchanceasyouprovidemoreinformationaboutthemeaningofyourwebsite’scontentstothesearchengine. Ifyouneedthehelpofaprofessionaltoidentifyandfixstructureddataerrorsorevaluateyoursiteforopportunitiestooptimizeforrichresults,contactResultsRepeatforaFreeMarketingevaluationtoday. WantsomemoreSEOtoolstocheckout?TakealookatourrecommendedTop10FreeSEOTools Searchfor: SubscribeNow! GetthelatestblogarticlesfromResultsRepeatdeliveredrighttoyourinbox! FirstName* LastName* Email* Bycheckingtheboxbelowandsubmittingthisform,youagreetoreceivemarketingcommunicationsfromResultsRepeat.Youcanunsubscribeatanytime.SeeourPrivacyPolicyformoredetails. IAgree Bysubmittingthisform,youagreetoreceivemarketingcommunicationsfromResultsRepeat.Youcanunsubscribeatanytime.SeeourPrivacyPolicyformoredetails. RecentPosts WhyYouShouldn’tTargetEveryone:SegmentingandCastingaSmallerNet AreYouWastingMoneyonPPCAdvertising? 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