Which schema mistakes cause real problems?
The serious schema mistakes are markup that contradicts the page, hidden or invented content, fake or self-serving reviews, and marking things up as what they are not. Google can respond with a manual action that removes rich result eligibility. Duplicate or stale plugin markup is the most common everyday problem. Match the page, test, and keep it current.
The short version
- Markup must say the same as the visible page.
- Don’t mark up hidden content, invented facts or things as what they aren’t.
- No stars for your own business, and no fake or undisclosed incentivized reviews.
- Misleading markup can earn a manual action that removes rich results.
- One clean set of markup per page, updated when the page changes.
Which mistakes matter most?
Google’s general structured data guidelines set the rules every type shares. Here are the mistakes that break them, roughly from most to least serious.
| Mistake | Why it’s a problem | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Fake or self-serving reviews in markup | Google’s review rules exclude a business’s own reviews from stars, and ban fake or undisclosed incentivized ones | Remove the markup; keep real reviews as text |
| Markup for content that isn’t on the page | Google: “Don’t mark up content that is not visible to readers of the page.” | Show it on the page, or remove it from the markup |
| Values that differ from the page | Markup must be “a true representation of the page content” | Fix the source that feeds the markup |
| Marking up things as what they aren’t | For example, a sale marked as an Event, which Google’s event rules forbid | Use the right type, or none |
| Markup on a page blocked from Google | Google says not to block structured data pages with robots.txt or noindex | Allow crawling of pages you want understood |
| Duplicate blocks from two plugins or a theme describing the same thing | Conflicting facts about the same business | Keep one source |
| Stale facts after a change | Old hours or phone in markup, new ones on the page | Update both together |
| Missing required properties | The feature can’t be shown | Add the property if you have the fact |
Sources: Google’s general guidelines, review snippet guide and event guide.
What happens if Google thinks markup is misleading?
Google’s general guidelines say spammy or misleading structured data can lead to a manual action. That removes the page’s or site’s eligibility for rich results. Google adds that a structured data manual action “doesn’t affect how the page ranks in Google web search.” So the cost is losing the features, not disappearing, but it’s still a cost, and it takes a fix and a review request to undo.
If you have one, Search Console’s Manual actions report says what was found. Fix every instance, then request a review from that report. Our guide to fixing a manual action walks through it.
Separately, Google’s spam policies now cover attempts to manipulate generative AI responses in Search. Hidden text in markup aimed at AI tools is the kind of thing those policies target. Bing publishes its own Webmaster Guidelines; check them directly if Bing matters to you.
How do I find mistakes on my own site?
- Pick one page of each type: home, contact, a service page, a blog post, a product or event page.
- Run each through the Rich Results Test and the Schema Markup Validator. See how to test your schema.
- Compare every value with the page: name, address, phone, hours, prices, dates, ratings.
- Check repeated blocks. Two blocks of the same type aren’t automatically a mistake: Google allows more than one breadcrumb trail on a page, and a business with several locations can have several LocalBusiness entries. It’s a problem when two blocks describe the same thing with different facts, such as two phone numbers for one business. Compare the names, addresses and other details before removing anything.
- Check Search Console’s Enhancements and Manual actions reports.
- Fix at the source, usually the plugin settings, and retest.
Why do these mistakes happen so often?
Markup is invisible, so nobody notices it drifting. A common cause on small sites is a change made in one place but not another: hours edited on the contact page while the SEO plugin still holds last year’s. Another is a new plugin, theme or page builder quietly adding its own schema on top of what was there. Neither looks broken from the front of the site.
What about markup mistakes that don’t break rules?
Some mistakes just waste effort:
- Marking up everything in sight. Extra types Google doesn’t use do no harm, but they’re more to keep accurate.
- Adding FAQ markup for Google. That result was retired in May 2026; see whether FAQ markup is still worth adding.
- Expecting markup to fix weak content. It labels what’s there; it doesn’t improve it. See what schema can and can’t do.
What if I find a problem I can’t fix?
Note the page, the tool’s message and where the markup comes from (the application/ld+json block in the page source usually shows which plugin made it). If that plugin is the one giving wrong or conflicting facts, turning off its schema output can be a quick stopgap while you sort out the rest. Don’t turn off markup that’s valid and accurate just because there’s more than one block. Our guide to adding schema in WordPress covers plugin settings.
How much does it cost, and how long does it take?
Checking five representative pages takes about half an hour. Most fixes are a settings change. A manual action review takes longer, and Google sets the timing.
How does E-3 handle this?
Structured data review is part of our SEO and AI search service: the markup is compared with the visible page, and fixes are tested on a staging copy first.
Related questions
Sources
- General structured data guidelines (Google Search Central)
- Review snippet structured data (Google Search Central)
- Event structured data (Google Search Central)
- Spam policies for Google web search (Google Search Central)
- Bing Webmaster Guidelines (Bing Webmaster Tools)
- Breadcrumb (BreadcrumbList) structured data (Google Search Central)
Next step
- Next: Will schema help your ranking or AI answers?The next guide in Schema for owners.
- Free website checkPublic checks on your own site, then an action plan of what to fix first.
Still stuck? Ask E-3 for an answer from our help guides.
Rather we handled schema for owners for you?
It’s part of what we do every week for small businesses, as part of seo and ai search. Start with a free check of your site and profile, or call and ask.