8 Structured Data Tools for Generating and Validating

You probably already know how important SEO is to website visibility. However, testing and validating structured data can also play a significant role in boosting site rankings.

Structured data, also known as schema markup, is a type of code that gives web crawlers data about your website. In contrast to unstructured data, structured data is located in a fixed format within a file. It can also be used to show events, logos, and other information that can boost the visibility of your website in Google Search‘s Rich Snippets. Unlike a regular search result, a rich snippet is interactive — it can contain photos, prices, author names, and star ratings to give potential leads an overview of your company.

Although working with structured data can be daunting, particularly for non-coders, it’s important to optimize your schema markup. Otherwise, you may not be able to stand out from your competitors. Here are eight of the best structured data tools for generating and validating schema. Powerful and easy-to-use, many of our picks are free and don’t require knowledge of coding to use. Consider integrating them into your SEO workflow to maximize your website’s potential.

Google Rich Results Test

Google Rich Results Test is Google’s answer to structured data testing and validation. You can use it to test your structured data and preview your search engine rich results:

1. Type in the URL of the page you want to test.
2. Decide whether you want to test with Googlebot smartphone or Googlebot desktop. (You can also toggle between the two to get a thorough understanding of how rich results look on both platforms.)
3. Click the Test URL button.
4. You will then be told whether your site is eligible for Google Search’s rich results.

If your page is eligible for rich results, you will see a big green checkmark. The tool will then list out detected items on your web page, such as products and logos. To get your site’s aggregate star rating, click on Review Snippets at the bottom. Click on Preview Results at the top to see how your rating is displayed on Google.

If your web page isn’t eligible for rich results, you will get a red exclamation mark and a message that says, “Not all markup is eligible for rich results.” At the bottom, you’ll see which of the structured data on your website is invalid and why.

Read: Controlling How Your Website Appears on Google

Schema Markup Validator

Schema.org‘s Schema Markup Validator is a rich results tool for validating generic schema. Unlike Google’s Rich Results Test, you can use it to debug a variety of structured data types — not just Google-supported ones. As such, this structured data testing tool is indispensable if you want to understand whether your structured data fully expresses your intent.

This tool can help you check the various issues:

• Whether your schema are in unusual combinations
• Whether you’re using RDFa, Microdata, and JSON-LD properly
• Whether your structured data fits the schema.org standard

To use it, simply enter the URL of the page you want to test. Schema Markup Validator will then show you all of the schema markup. You can then click on any of the detected entities on the right to make adjustments as needed.

Merkle Schema Markup Generator

The Merkle Schema Markup Generator is another free data tool that can boost your site’s visibility. User-friendly and flexible, this tool allows you to create schema with just a few clicks of your mouse. No coding is required.

Schema Markup Generator offers schema markup for a variety of applications, such as:

• People
• Recipes
• Website information
• Articles
• Job postings
• Product information
• Local business
• Breadcrumb navigation
• Video

After selecting what kind of schema you want to create, the tool will output the code in JSON-LD. You can then copy and paste it into your website. You can also download the code in microdata format as needed.

RankRanger Schema Markup Generator

Like Merkle Schema Markup Generator, RankRanger’s Schema Markup Generator lets you create structured data markup. 

You can use this tool to create the following types of JSON-LD schema markups:

• COVID-19 special announcement
• FAQ page
• Organization (Logo, Contacts, Social profile)
• Local business
• Event
• Product (Offer, AggregateRating, Reviews)
• Person
• Article
• How-to
• Video

Once you’ve selected a type of schema and completed all of the required fields, click the Validate button. You’ll then be sent to Google’s “Test your structured data” page. There, you can choose to test your data with Google’s Rich Results Test or schema.org’s Schema Markup Validator.

Rank Math Schema Markup

Rank Math’s Schema Markup is a schema app that you can use to generate schema markup. Unlike the other picks on this list, however, this isn’t a standalone tool. Instead, it’s a part of Rank Math, which is a full-suite SEO plugin for WordPress. You can download the free version of Rank Math here.

Follow these steps to start using Rank Math’s Schema Markup:

1. After you’ve installed and configured Rank Math on your WordPress website, go to Rank Math > Dashboard.
2. Make sure that Schema (Structured Data) is enabled.
3. If you want to give every page of your site a Schema, select a default Schema type for all pages and posts by clicking Rank Math > Titles and Meta.

1. Click on Posts on the left menu.
2. Then, scroll to find Schema Type.
3. Use the drop-down menu to see all of the structured data types available:
   1. Article
   2. Book
   3. Course
   4. Dataset
   5. Event
   6. FAQ
   7. FactCheck
   8. HowTO
   9. Job Posting
   10. Movie
   11. Music
   12. Person
   13. Product
   14. Recipe
   15. Restaurant
   16. Service
   17. Software
   18. Video
4. Select the Schema you want as the default. This should be the Schema type that you use the most often. Save your settings.
5. Repeat the process for Pages under Post Types.
6. After you’ve set up a default Scheme, you can customize and add Schema for your pages and posts.
   1. Go to Posts>Add New to create a new post. Then, open Rank Math.
   2. Open the Schema tab. You’ll see the default Schema type you selected before. If you want to customize it, delete it and create a new Schema by clicking Schema Generator.
   3. You can now choose from a variety of schema templates. Some features, such as Custom Schema, aren’t available in the free version of Rank Math.

Schema App’s Structured Data WordPress plugin

Another structured data markup helper is the Schema App Structured Data WordPress plugin. Powerful and intuitive, this application allows you to achieve all of Google’s 32 rich results, including:

• Article pages
• Blog posts
• Author pages
• Collection pages
• Search pages

If you want more schema types, consider getting the paid version of the app. The PRO version lets you add custom schema to pages like your Contact page, FAQ pages, Homepage, and more. It also lets you create schema markup for other page types, including WooCommerce products and reviews.

What’s more, you’ll also get to work with a personally assigned customer success manager. An expert in schema markup, your customer success manager will partner with you to develop a customized schema markup strategy for your business. They’ll also:

• Markup web pages (including templated web pages and single pages)
• Provide ongoing support
• Offer performance analytics

Schema – All In One Schema Rich Snippets

Brainstorm Force’s Schema – All in One Schema Rich Snippets is a WordPress plugin that allows you to get eye-catching results in search engines. It currently has more than 80,000 active installations and has been tested up to WordPress Version 5.8.1.

This application is a good pick if you want to create rich snippets for international audiences. It comes in seven languages: 

• Chinese (China)
• Chinese (Taiwan)
• Dutch
• English (US)
• Russian
• Spanish (Spain)
• Spanish (Venezuela)

It also supports the following schema types:

• Review
• People
• Event
• Recipe
• Product
• Software application
• Articles
• Video

In the future, it may release the following schema types:

• Book
• Local business
• Breadcrumbs

As with many other WordPress plugins, you can contribute to the plugin on Github.

Schema.press

Finally, we have Schema.press, a paid plugin that implements schema.org markups to your WordPress site in JSON-LD format.

With this plugin, you can say goodbye to manually creating schema.org markups. This tool will automatically dive into your WordPress site and output the relevant schema.org markup across different pages and posts. 

Schema.press allows you to create the following schema:

• Thing
• Creative Work
• Organization
• Article
• Blog Posting
• Course
• Book
• FAQ Page
• Event
• How To
• Local Business
• Job Posting
• Person
• Movie
• Product
• Place
• Review
• Recipe
• Service
• Special Announcement
• Software Application
• Web Page

For Web Page, there’s also:

• Checkout Page
• Real Estate Listing
• About Page
• Medical Web Page
• Profile Page
• Q&A Page

You can also customize markup for unique content types on your site. Try the free demo here.

Takeaway

Working with structured data or schema markups can be trying, particularly if you’re not a coder. 

Fortunately, with these state-of-the-art structured data tools, you can start optimizing your site for Google’s Rich Snippets. When choosing which application to use, think about what schema types you need and how much time and energy you have for testing and validating schema markups. If you’re short on time and energy and need access to a wide variety of schema types, consider getting Schema.press. On the other hand, if you don’t need a lot of schema types, consider using free software like Merkle Schema Markup Generator.