Google announced it has added a new set of detailed errors to the rich results reports to Google Search Console for some sites. These are called the rich results status reports and you will see a report only if Search Console has data for that rich result type on your site, and Search Console implements a report for that type.
The announcement. Google said on Twitter “Today we’re adding more details to some errors on Search Console Rich Results status reports to make them more actionable and help you understand how to solve those issues.”
Rich results status reports. This report consists of a summary page and a details page that shows you errors, warnings and other details around supported rich results. The summary page shows a chart of errors, warnings, and valid items on your site over time, and a table showing status and description category combinations that shows how many structured data items currently fall in each category. You can click on a row in the summary page table to see details about items in that category. Google has added a new set of detailed errors to these reports to help you debug issues with your rich results.
What specifically are the new errors. Here is a list of the specific new detailed errors you will see with this enhancement:
- Invalid attribute string length
- Invalid attribute enum value
- Invalid object
- Type conversion failed
- Out of numeric range
Ryan Levering of Google said “the key is that it’s not new errors, just better details on a bunch of cross type errors. These are things that may have been exposed in SDTT but we haven’t had in reports yet. These are very common errors and now they should be more actionable.”
What are rich results. Rich results are experiences on Google surfaces, including Google Search, that go beyond the standard blue link. Rich results can include carousels, images, reviews, stars, drop down and other non-textual elements in the search results page.
Which rich results are supported. Here is a list of the supported rich results for the rich results status report; Breadcrumb, Dataset, Event, FAQ, Fact check, Guided recipe, How-to, Image License, Job posting, Logo, Product, Q&A page, Recipe, Review snippet, Sitelinks searchbox, Special Announcement, and Video.
When to act. Google said “ideally your current error count should be 0. Current error, warning, and valid counts are shown at the top of the chart on all pages in the report.” If you find errors, handle them as Google noted in this document. If you find warnings, they do not disqualify your rich results from being shown in Google Search with special features, “but they can provide a somewhat reduced experience for your users,” Google said.
Why we care. More detailed errors here will help you better debug issues and thus perform better in Google Search. Rich results don’t necessarily help you rank better in Google but it can help you improve your click through rate from the search results. Use these new detailed errors in these reports to help you debug issues that may limit your ability to show up for rich results in Google Search.
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About The Author
Barry Schwartz a Contributing Editor to Search Engine Land and a member of the programming team for SMX events. He owns RustyBrick, a NY based web consulting firm. He also runs Search Engine Roundtable, a popular search blog on very advanced SEM topics. Barry’s personal blog is named Cartoon Barry and he can be followed on Twitter here.