Two free schema tools — when to use which

Two free schema tools — when to use which

Today's lesson: a rich result — those star ratings or FAQ drop-downs under a search listing — only shows if your code is read correctly by Google. Two free checkers help, but they answer different questions.

Think of one as a spell-checker and the other as a taste-tester.

1. Use the Schema Markup Validator (validator.schema.org) to ask 'is my code written correctly?' It catches typos in any schema type.
2. Use the Rich Results Test (Google's tool) to ask 'will Google actually show a feature?' It only reports types Google supports.
3. Run both. Valid code that Google ignores is still invisible.

The trap: passing the Validator but failing Rich Results means your markup is correct but useless for a feature.

Try this: paste one product page into both tools and note where their answers disagree. 🎓