Structured data simply refers to a schematic plan that enables search engine bots to understand a page’s content. A markup tool is used to code structured data. This code is then embedded onto the page. These codes are tested with the help of the best structured data testing tool before deployment.
In this article, we will briefly discuss structured data, structured data testing, and the role it plays in search engine optimization (SEO). We will also talk about some of the best structured data testing tools available today.
Importance of Structured Data in SEO
SEO is all about making it easy for search engines to understand your site. Structured data is a crucial component of that. When structured data is optimized, it increases the visibility of a site in the search results of various search engines.
Structured data can also increase the click-through rate (CTR) of a site and reduce the bounce rate, both of which have a major impact on search result rankings. This can be achieved by using structured data to enable search engines to list things like pricing, the average rating of the site, product features, and more alongside the search results.
Structured Data Testing
Structured data testing is done with the help of a data testing tool. It is carried out to monitor the health of your page. Best Structured data testing tools can provide valuable insights about a page’s data as it must be visible to search engines such as the format of the structured data, any errors in it, and further information about any issues with the structured data.
Looking for Database Management Software? Check out SoftwareSuggest’s list of the best database management software solutions.
A best structured data testing tools make it easier for you to detect errors that may not be apparent in plain sight. The smallest issue with structured data can prevent a search engine like Google from reading the markup. Structured data testing tools enable you to identify and resolve critical issues with a site’s schema markup. These issues mostly result from wrong or missing code.
Best Structured Data Testing Tools
Here are some of our top picks from several best structured data testing tools:
1. Google’s Structured Data Testing Tool
A simple, fuss-free data testing tool, requires you to paste your website’s URL or the code snippet, and it will check the code and flag any errors. Using this tool, you can validate the format of your structured data code and also check fields of structured data such as the name of the organization; it’s URL, type, and more.
2. Yandex Structured Data Validator
Yandex is a widely-used search engine in Russia. The Yandex Structured Data Validator is especially useful in ensuring that the structured data code appears correctly on this search engine. It is free and works quite like Google’s Structured Data Testing Tool, as it allows you to check the markup of your site. It inspects all the common formats, including OpenGraph, RDF, schema.org, and microdata.
3. Chrome Extension- Structured Data Testing Tool
If you use a Chrome internet browser, this extension uses the Google Structured Data Testing Tool to validate the markup and check all formats supported by Google’s validation tool. It displays warnings and errors in red and orange. It can access websites in a staging or development environment. It validates rich snippets and structured data of a website. This tool can check code online, behind a password protected page and even the intranet.
4. SEO SiteCheckup
SEO SiteCheckup is a comprehensive website analysis tool that contains a structured data testing tool among a dozen other tools. The tool checks the structured data’s compliance with HTML microdata specifications. Beyond schema usage, the tool also checks your website for SEO-related issues such as URL redirects, nested tables, page load speed, broken links, mobile responsiveness, and more.
5. Schema Markup Tool By Atrock
Why test schema markup code retrospectively, when you can create and use good code proactively?
If that belief resonates with you, then Attrock’s Schema Markup Generator tool is just what you need. Use it to create flawless structured data code in multiple formats like RDFa or JSON-LD.
The best part is that you don’t need any technical or coding knowledge. Simply choose the type of structured data you want, add your website details, and it will generate the perfect code for you.
6. Bing Markup Validator
As a part of the Bing Webmaster tools, you can access it by clicking on “Diagnosing and Tools” on the search page. It validates various types of structured data, such as OpenGraph, JSON-LD, RDFa, and microformats. However, it does not allow you to validate HTML structured data.
7. Google Email Markup Tester
This tool verifies structured data extracted from email documents against standard specifications. It is available for free, and all you need to do is paste the markup code in the text box and click ‘Validate.’ The tool then goes on to display the structured data with properties for every entity. It also displays error messages in case of invalid inputs.
8. RDF Translator
The RDF translator is a free tool that can be used for a large range of structured data formats. It validates limited types of structured data formats. The best reason to use this tool is that it is great for validating XML, N3, and N-Triples structured data formats that are not supported by many free structured data validation tools.
Also, it comes with REST API, which allows developers to incorporate the toll on their website. To use this tool, you must simply paste the address of your site or the structured data code, and the tool will check your code for you.
9. JSON-LD Playground
As the name suggests, JSON-LD is the best-used tool to validate the JSON-LD struct structured data format. You just need to enter the URL of the remote document or the markup code beginning with <script type=’application/ld+json‘>. The site then does a comprehensive analysis of the code and displays a detailed report. It’s a great tool to verify whether the syntax meets the requirement.
10. Structured Data Linter
A free tool, the Structured Data Linter, is pretty straightforward to use. You can paste the URL, code, or upload a file to check the structured data. The tool can return a snippet visualization. It can also provide limited vocabulary validations. It does not support microformats. Overall, this tool works fine for verifying structured data present in web pages and obtaining enhanced search results.
11. Microdata Tool
This tool can be included in your website. It is a jQuery drop-in script. Microdata Tool works best for validating HTML5 microdata structured data. The best part is that it works as a great browser validator tool, even without a web server or internet connection.
12. Schema
This tool comes highly recommended for content marketers with no technical background, but are keen to add structured data to their content. If your website is based on WordPress, the all-in-one schema.org rich snippets plugin makes it easy to add rich snippets to your posts and fuel SEO, organic results, and click-through rates.
The plugin automatically does everything. It becomes a part of your website and optimizes your content for you. It can also be used to create, build, and generate structured data markup in JSON-LD, which can also be injected in the header and footer of your website.
The Knowledge Navigator tool is proprietary software that was originally designed in-house for cannabisMD users. It provides great insights to businesses on what people are searching for a while also helping customers find the information and data that they need. The tool allows you to see everything, including the smallest details.
14. SNIP WordPress Plugin
Another popular structured data testing tool of choice comes in the form of a plugin called SNIP. What sets SNIP apart is that it comes with a complete suite of instructional videos that allow you to produce structured data for any type of schema based on your requirements.
15. Snippetron
Structured data involves a lot of manual work, such as visiting each website page to add a certain markup. This was obviously time-consuming and the reason that many people did not even consider it. Snippertron is a tool that can reduce the time to do structured data. It is a smart AI-based WordPress plugin that does everything for you automatically. It works well with WordPress pages, posts, and WooCommerce products. The best part is that it can figure out what a page is about and summarize it according to schema.org.
16. Yoast
The Yoast SEO, when combined with the default WordPress Editor, Gutenberg is widely considered as one of the easiest and user-friendly structured data tools for content marketers. It ensures that you format your content appropriately. It also takes care of structured data by marking up your FAQ and How-To content with JSON-LD, which is found to be preferred by Google.
It also does a number of programming tasks like generating sitemap.xml, building meta-descriptions, title tags, and also flags SEO issues with your site for you. It is also designed to help in redirecting broken or mismatched URLs. The best part is that Yoast will parse the individual fields so that you never have to mark-up the webpage yourself. Yoast is programmed to do all of this, which makes it a great solution for content marketers.
Conclusion
As we have discussed, content marketers and business owners cannot overlook the importance of structured data markup. However, your structured data can only become foolproof and work to your advantage when you weed out all the issues with it using a structured data testing tool. Structured data plays a very important role in determining your visibility in search engine results. Nobody can deny how important that is to push traffic to your website.
Passionate Digital Marketer & Software Analyst. I recognize the importance of interactive engagement in today’s world and works towards building a steady flow of relevant, user-oriented content to obtain high-rank placement in search engine results.
