April 9, 2026Updated April 10, 20267 min readby Vladimir Kamenev

Free Schema Markup Validator — Test JSON-LD for Google Rich Results

Test your JSON-LD in seconds

Our free schema markup validator extracts every JSON-LD block from your page, identifies the schema types, checks required and recommended properties, and tells you exactly which Google Rich Results you qualify for — all in one click, no signup required.

Why schema markup matters

Schema markup is the difference between a plain blue link and a rich, clickable result with stars, prices, images, and FAQ dropdowns. Those enhancements are not cosmetic — they move money.

Here's why structured data is non-negotiable in 2026:

Rich Results dominate the SERP. Review stars, FAQ accordions, product prices, recipe cards, and event listings take up significantly more real estate than a standard result.

Click-through rates jump 30–40%. Studies from Milestone, Search Engine Land, and independent audits consistently show pages with valid Schema.org markup earn 30–40% more clicks than pages without.

AI assistants depend on it. ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, and Google AI Overview parse JSON-LD to understand what your business is, what you sell, who wrote an article, and whether a FAQ answer is trustworthy. Without structured data, AI has to guess.

Local pack visibility. LocalBusiness schema with correct NAP (name, address, phone) helps Google reconcile your site with your Google Business Profile.

If your page has invalid or missing JSON-LD, you are leaving all of that on the table. A free schema markup validator is the fastest way to find and fix the gaps.

What is Schema.org markup

Schema.org is a shared vocabulary — maintained jointly by Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, and Yandex — that lets you label what your content actually is. Not just "a webpage with text" but specifically: a product with a price, an article with an author, a restaurant with opening hours, a how-to with numbered steps.

There are three ways to add Schema.org data to a page:

JSON-LD (JavaScript Object Notation for Linked Data) — a <script type="application/ld+json"> block in your <head> or <body>.

Microdata — inline HTML attributes like itemprop and itemtype.

RDFa — another inline attribute format.

Google officially recommends JSON-LD because it is decoupled from your visible HTML, easy to generate dynamically, and simple to audit. That is why our JSON-LD validator focuses on this format — it is the one Google, Bing, and AI crawlers prefer.

What our free schema validator checks

The WeLead Lab free schema markup validator is built into the website analyzer and runs a full audit of every structured data block on a URL. Here is what it does:

Extracts all JSON-LD blocks from the page, including nested @graph arrays and multiple script tags.

Identifies each schema type — LocalBusiness, Product, FAQPage, Article, Organization, Person, Service, HowTo, Review, BreadcrumbList, WebSite.

Validates required properties for each type per Schema.org and Google's official documentation.

Checks for @context and @type — the two properties every valid JSON-LD block must contain.

Reports Google Rich Results eligibility so you know which SERP features each schema type unlocks.

Flags missing recommended properties that, while not required, significantly improve rich result visibility and AI understanding.

Validates JSON syntax so you catch trailing commas, unescaped quotes, and other parser errors before Google does.

Unlike Google's Rich Results Test, which only checks the schema types Google itself surfaces, our JSON-LD validator covers the full vocabulary AI assistants and non-Google engines rely on.

Schema types we validate (11 total)

The free schema markup validator currently supports the 11 schema types that cover 95% of real-world use cases.

1. LocalBusiness

Required: name, address, telephone

Recommended: url, image, geo, openingHours, priceRange, aggregateRating

Unlocks: local pack, review stars, Knowledge Panel

2. Organization

Required: name, url

Recommended: logo, description, sameAs, contactPoint

Unlocks: Knowledge Panel, logo in SERP, sitelinks

3. Person

Required: name

Recommended: jobTitle, worksFor, url, sameAs

Unlocks: author rich results, Knowledge Panel

4. Product

Required: name

Recommended: description, image, offers, aggregateRating, brand

Unlocks: price, availability, review stars, merchant listings

5. Article

Required: headline, author, datePublished

Recommended: image, description, publisher

Unlocks: Top Stories, article rich results, Google Discover

6. FAQPage

Required: mainEntity (array of Question/Answer pairs)

Unlocks: FAQ dropdowns (where still surfaced), AI answer citations

7. WebSite

Required: name, url

Recommended: potentialAction (Sitelinks Search Box)

Unlocks: sitelinks search box

8. Service

Required: serviceType, provider

Unlocks: better local service understanding, AI categorization

9. BreadcrumbList

Required: itemListElement

Unlocks: breadcrumb trail in SERP instead of raw URL

10. HowTo

Required: name, step

Unlocks: HowTo rich results, voice assistant instructions

11. Review

Required: author, reviewRating

Unlocks: review stars (when nested in Product or LocalBusiness)

How to use the free schema markup validator

Running a full JSON-LD validator audit takes under 30 seconds:

Go to weleadlab.com/website-analyzer/

Paste your URL and click Analyze. The crawler fetches your page, parses every <script type="application/ld+json"> block, and runs the validation checks.

Review the schema report. You will see each detected schema type, required properties that are missing, recommended properties worth adding, and a checklist of Rich Results you now qualify for.

That is it. No login, no credit card, no artificial limits — a genuinely free schema markup validator designed to finish a technical audit in one sitting.

Common schema mistakes the validator catches

After running our JSON-LD validator across thousands of pages, the same problems show up again and again. Here are the ones that cost sites the most traffic:

Missing required properties

A Product schema without a name, an Article schema without datePublished, a LocalBusiness schema without address — Google silently drops these from rich result eligibility. They do not error publicly, they just never earn stars.

Wrong `@type`

Using "@type": "Business" instead of "LocalBusiness", or "Blog" instead of "BlogPosting". Schema.org is case- and spelling-sensitive. The validator compares your type against the canonical list.

Invalid JSON syntax

A single trailing comma, an unescaped apostrophe inside a string, or a missing closing brace breaks the entire block. Google's parser gives up and indexes the page as if the schema did not exist.

Typos in property names

aggregateRatings instead of aggregateRating. telephoneNumber instead of telephone. datePublish instead of datePublished. JSON-LD will not flag these as errors — they simply get ignored.

Using microdata instead of JSON-LD

Microdata still works, but Google and AI assistants prefer JSON-LD. If your schema is buried in itemprop attributes, our validator will recommend migrating to a clean JSON-LD block.

Mismatched content and schema

Marking up five-star reviews that do not appear on the visible page, or listing opening hours that contradict the footer. Google treats this as deceptive and can issue a manual action. The validator compares the schema against the rendered HTML and flags inconsistencies.

Rich Results you can earn

A valid Schema.org implementation unlocks specific SERP features. Here are the Google Rich Results our JSON-LD validator checks eligibility for:

Review stars — AggregateRating nested in Product, LocalBusiness, or Recipe

FAQ dropdowns — FAQPage with well-formed mainEntity array (still live in many verticals)

Recipe cards — Recipe with name, image, recipeIngredient, recipeInstructions

Product info — Product + Offer with price, priceCurrency, availability

Event listings — Event with name, startDate, location

HowTo steps — HowTo with numbered HowToStep array

Video thumbnails — VideoObject with name, thumbnailUrl, uploadDate

Breadcrumbs — BreadcrumbList replaces the raw URL path in SERP

Sitelinks search box — WebSite with potentialAction

Each of these is a visual upgrade that pulls clicks away from your competitors. A free schema markup validator tells you exactly which ones you are missing.

Run your audit now

Every minute your JSON-LD stays broken is a minute of missed rich results, lower click-through, and weaker AI citations. Our free schema markup validator is part of the full site audit at weleadlab.com/website-analyzer/ — paste a URL, get structured data, performance, SEO, and AEO scores in under a minute.

No signup. No credit card. No artificial limits.

Frequently asked questions

Is this schema validator really free?

Yes. The JSON-LD validator is part of the WeLead Lab website analyzer, which is completely free to use. There is no signup, no credit card, and no scan limit for individual URL checks. We built it because every SEO tool should include a Schema.org validator by default.

How is this different from Google's Rich Results Test?

Google's tool only checks the schema types Google itself surfaces in search results. Our free schema markup validator covers the full Schema.org vocabulary AI assistants and non-Google crawlers use — including types like Service, Person, and WebSite that Google ignores but ChatGPT and Perplexity rely on. It also flags missing recommended properties, not just required ones.

Does schema markup actually improve rankings?

Schema markup is not a direct ranking factor, but it powers Rich Results and AI citations that increase click-through rate by 30–40%. Higher CTR is a ranking signal, so the effect is indirect but real. It also helps AI assistants correctly identify and cite your business, which is the new frontier of search visibility.

JSON-LD or microdata — which should I use?

JSON-LD. Google, Bing, and every major AI crawler prefer it. JSON-LD lives in a single <script> tag, is easy to generate from a CMS or static site builder, and does not pollute your HTML. Microdata still works but is harder to maintain and validate. Our JSON-LD validator focuses exclusively on JSON-LD for this reason.

How often should I re-validate my schema?

Run the free schema markup validator any time you change your site template, migrate a CMS, update product listings, or publish a new content type. Schema.org also updates its vocabulary periodically — re-running a JSON-LD validator audit every quarter catches deprecations before they silently strip your Rich Results.