Structured data check

Updated

Overview

Dirigible prints structured data (JSON-LD) on every page: a node for the site itself, and nodes for what the page is, such as an event, a person, a blog post, a breadcrumb trail or a list of questions and answers. Google reads it to show rich results, and skips any node that's missing something it requires.

The Structured data report under SEO → Reports checks that data against Google's rules and names what to fix, so you don't have to paste pages into Google's tester one at a time.

Where to find it

  1. In the WordPress admin, go to SEO → Reports
  2. Open Structured data

You need an Administrator account. The check runs when the tab opens and is kept for an hour; select Run the check again after fixing things.

Reading the report

The number beside the report is how many pages have at least one error. Warnings are counted in the report's description instead.

  • Error: something Google requires is missing or invalid, so the rich result won't show. For example an event with no venue address, a blog post with no headline, a question with no answer, or a price written as "$15" instead of "15".
  • Warning: something Google recommends, or a sign of a problem: a missing image, a headline over 110 characters, an HTML entity such as & left in a name, an empty value, or a telephone number that doesn't look like one.

Each row names the page, the kinds of structured data it carries, and the findings. View opens the page; Test in Google opens it in Google's Rich Results Test, which shows exactly what Google reads. The first row, Whole site, is the site's own node (your business, organisation or person), which prints on every page.

Fixing what it finds

Most findings point at a field in the page or the site's settings:

  • Site node: the name, logo, address, phone and email come from the Customizer (Header Logo, Footer address and contact) and the site's type from SEO → Settings → Structured Data. A local business needs a street and city; a site with no address should choose an Organization type instead.
  • Events: the venue needs a street and city, or mark the event as online. Prices are digits only.
  • Blog posts and articles: set a featured image, and keep the title under 110 characters.
  • FAQ blocks: every question needs text and an answer.
  • HTML or entities in text: the text was saved with formatting, usually in an excerpt or a title. Edit it as plain text.

After editing a page, view it once so its structured data is rebuilt, then run the check again.

Tips

  • A page's structured data is saved the first time the page is viewed after a change. The line at the top says how many pages have one to check; the rest haven't been viewed since they changed.
  • When another plugin changes the site's node before it prints, the report checks what prints, and lists anything in the theme's own node separately.
  • When Yoast SEO, All in One SEO or SEOPress Pro prints the structured data instead, the report says so and checks nothing; use that plugin's own tools.
  • The report lists its first 50 pages; select Show all for the rest. Pages with errors come first.

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