Search Console showing errors in your product structured data?

Google’s recent run of enhancement reports in Search Console gives you lots of insights into how your site is performing in search. Sometimes, though, it gives you stuff to think about, like errors or improvements to make. For instance, if you run an online store, you’re bound to have come across this structured data error: “Either ‘offers’, ‘review’ or ‘aggregateRating’ should be specified.” There’s a very easy solution for this if you run WooCommerce and Yoast SEO: our WooCommerce SEO add-on.

The “Either ‘offers’, ‘review’ or ‘aggregateRating’ should be specified” error in Google Search Console 

The “Either ‘offers’, ‘review’ or ‘aggregateRating’ should be specified” happens for a lot of online stores. It means that Google misses several properties in your product schema implementation. By not offering these, your product listings will not reach their full potential in search. This way, Google has a hard time tying all the product-specific properties together to paint a full picture of your product. In some cases, though, they manage, but why let them figure it out? Fixing this becomes imperative if you want a better chance of standing out. 

Who doesn’t want a product listing like the one pictured below?

An example of rich results which include product features
Valid product schema might lead to eye-popping rich results like this one from Reverb

Oftentimes, however, invalid or incomplete structured data might cripple your perfomance in search. Errors are all too common, like the one in the screenshot from Search Console below.

Screenshot of the “Either ‘offers’, ‘review’ or ‘aggregateRating’ should be specified” error in Google Search Console
The “Either ‘offers’, ‘review’ or ‘aggregateRating’ should be specified” error is very common

Help is at hand: Yoast SEO & WooCommerce SEO

WooCommerce is huge in the WordPress world. According to W3Techs, 5.5% of all sites run an online shop on the WooCommerce platform on WordPress — and growing fast. That’s amazing. Joost wrote a post with a deeper analysis of the CMS market. We have a plugin that helps customers improve their online store: WooCommerce SEO. This addon ties neatly into Yoast SEO, including the big schema graph we build for every site. It also greatly improves the product schema output by WooCommerce. 

If your site runs on WooCommerce and Yoast SEO you need WooCommerce SEO. Besides all the cool behind-the-scenes improvements, it fixes that dreaded “Either ‘offers’, ‘review’ or ‘aggregateRating’ should be specified” error for you: automatically! It gives Google everything it needs to figure out your products are products and thus increases your chances of getting those important rich results.

Why you should fix this error

Google is increasingly betting on schema structured data to help understand the world. If your site offers search engines enough context about what’s on it, the rewards could be great: rich results. And for some types, visibility on other devices like smart speakers or visual assistants.

Getting your product schema right, means you can get these types of results. The one earlier in this article is from Reverb and shows a nicely formed product rich results, with breadcrumbs, product information, ratings and reviews, pricing details and an in-stock message. This is all powered by product schema. 

Reporting on the performance of products 

To help you track how your products are doing, Google recently added a Product enhancement report to Search Console. This report lets you know if your products are correctly structured and, therefore, eligible for rich results. This week, Google also announced that it will allow you to see the performance of your product in the search results. You can now find a new Product line in the Search Appearance section of the Search Performance section. 

Search Console now has a product results view in Search Appearance

This report shows exactly how well your products are doing: how many impressions did they have and how many clicks? This is invaluable data to improve your product listings. 

Fix the error and check your listings

Seeing the product schema error in Search Console? Using Yoast SEO and WooCommerce? Well, you’re in luck. The WooCommerce SEO add-on is the glue that ties the product schema structured data between those two platforms together. It fixes that dreaded error and gives you a better chance at getting your products noticed in Google!

Read more: Did Google Search Console send an email with an error message? »

Coming up next!


14 Responses to Search Console showing errors in your product structured data?

  1. Kevin
    Kevin  • 5 years ago

    Thank you for this! We’ve been trying to fix this issue for quite some time to no avail and today our validation passed.

  2. Luc
    Luc  • 5 years ago

    Thank you so much for all the infos and solutions. i using yoast woocommerce and divi. Thanks once again!

    • Hanneke
      Hanneke  • 5 years ago

      Hi Luc, you’re very welcome!

  3. Brijesh
    Brijesh  • 5 years ago

    Hello Yoast Team,
    Thanks for giving Woo-Commerce Add-on,
    But I am Use Easy Digital Downloads Plugin for e-commerce.
    Is that any solution for this type of error for easy digital downloads?

  4. Fulco
    Fulco  • 5 years ago

    Hi you all.
    Thanks for your last information about tackling the Google Search Console problems concerning gtin,mpn,isbn. aggregateRating, review,brand, description and priceValidUntil. Understood like we have both plugins of Yoast for SEA and WooCommerce these problems might be soon over for me? At my Google Search Console still is mentioned 68 with 6 problems as mentioned above? Will this take more time to see it changing into the right direction of solution for me or do I have to do something else still? I did read it would be organized automatically if you have both the plugins which I have for more then a year now? Hope to hear from you soon with some advise or explanation. Thanking you in advance and wishing you all the best and success. Thanks a lot Fulco.

  5. Michael
    Michael  • 5 years ago

    Hi. This is great. I have the basic yoast paid tier.

    Is there a plan to allow product in standard yoast?

    I have a boat plans website, but leave the actual selling of product to agents in different locations.

    I tried selling on my website but it works better in my business to have knowledgeable agents closer to the customer.

    Would it be sensible to have schema products in this case.

    Also some simpler implementations avoid the online shop complexity and just have direct “buy me” links to external websites.

    Is implementation of product schema likely for the core paid yoast plugin?

  6. michel
    michel  • 5 years ago

    Hi Yoast,

    I use Yoast SEO and WooCommerce plugin and it works great for me.
    Thanks for sharing these tips.

    Regards,
    Michel

    • Hanneke
      Hanneke  • 5 years ago

      Hi Michel, that’s great to hear!

      Hanneke

  7. Linda Allen
    Linda Allen  • 5 years ago

    I experienced this error but thanks for this tutorial. I was able to fix it.

    • Hanneke
      Hanneke  • 5 years ago

      Hi Linda,
      we’re glad to hear you were able to fix it :)

  8. Bill Hunt
    Bill Hunt  • 5 years ago

    Thanks for setting us on the right path Yoast! I’ve been designing websites for longer than I care to remember, but your blog is invaluable (and much appreciated) to keep abreast of the many changes google seems to be making on an almost weekly basis. Your premium plugin has also been provided a much needed refresher course on on-page SEO – thanks again!

    • Hanneke
      Hanneke  • 5 years ago

      Thank you Bill, for your kind words! Everything changes so quickly, but we’re trying to keep everyone up to date as much as possible and as soon as possible.
      Good luck!

  9. Craig Hicks
    Craig Hicks  • 5 years ago

    I have these errors on all my products. I purchased the premium seo and WooCommerce seo packages a few weeks ago yet the errors are still present. Could you please advise.

    • Hanneke
      Hanneke  • 5 years ago

      Hi Craig,
      The best thing to do is to contact our support team.
      Good luck!