Schema Markup Validator – Check Your JSON-LD

How to Use the Validator

1. Pick an input — paste raw JSON-LD, paste the page's HTML (the tool extracts every ld+json block), or fetch a URL.
2. Click "Validate Schema" — the report lists every detected type and every issue, from critical JSON errors to missing recommended properties.
3. Fix errors first, then warnings — each issue explains what was detected, why it matters and how to fix it.
4. Confirm with Google's tools — paste the corrected markup into the Rich Results Test and monitor Search Console after deploying.

What This Tool Checks

• JSON syntax — every ld+json block must parse as valid JSON.
• Type detection — Article, BlogPosting, FAQPage, BreadcrumbList, Organization, Person, Product, LocalBusiness, Event, Recipe, VideoObject, WebSite, WebPage, HowTo, JobPosting and more.
• Required properties — e.g. headline for Article, mainEntity for FAQPage, name + startDate for Event.
• Recommended properties — e.g. dateModified, publisher, image.
• URL fields — image, url, sameAs, logo and @id must be absolute URLs.
• Nested entities — authors as objects, publisher with logo, FAQ question/answer structure.
• Duplicates — the same @id, headline or name appearing in multiple nodes.

JSON-LD Best Practices

• Use the standard @context — https://schema.org — and one type per entity unless you genuinely need multiple.
• Give entities stable @id URLs — referencing a Person or Organization by @id across pages helps engines connect the data.
• Make URLs absolute — relative image and url values are a top reason markup gets ignored.
• Use ISO 8601 dates — 2026-08-16 or 2026-08-16T09:00:00Z, never local formats like "Aug 16, 2026".
• Validate before deploying — every theme or plugin update can silently drop or corrupt your schema. Re-run this validator after major changes.

Example: Before and After Validation

A recipe page had JSON-LD with a relative image URL ("image": "images/pie.jpg"), no recipeInstructions, and a string author. The validator flagged all three: the image as a non-URL warning, recipeInstructions as missing required-by-Google guidance, and the author as a nested-entity tip. After converting the image to https://example.com/images/pie.jpg, adding the instructions array, and switching the author to a Person entity, the report came back clean.

Common Mistakes & How to Avoid Them

• Copy-pasting schema with syntax errors. A missing comma invalidates the whole block — run the JSON through a formatter if you are hand-editing.
• Adding FAQPage where there is no visible Q&A. Google requires the FAQ content to be visible on the page; markup for hidden content is policy-violating.
• Treating this validator as the final word. It is heuristic and offline. Google's Rich Results Test is the authoritative check for rich-result eligibility.
• Repeating entities instead of referencing them. Define the Organization once and reference it by @id from every page.

Frequently Asked Questions

What if my type isn't in the list?

You will see it listed as "detected unknown type". The JSON is still valid structured data — check schema.org for its properties and verify with Google's tools.

Why does Google ignore some valid JSON-LD?

Google's requirements are stricter than schema.org's. FAQPage without visible content, missing required-by-Google properties, or policy-violating markup are all ignored.

Is JSON-LD the only supported format?

This validator focuses on JSON-LD, Google's recommended format. Microdata and RDFa exist but are legacy and less common.

Related SEO Tools

Pair validation with the On-Page SEO Analyzer (which detects schema presence during full audits), the SERP Snippet Simulator (to preview how rich results change your listing), and the Image SEO Analyzer (since image URLs inside schema are a common failure point).