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Google: Marking Up With Both JSON-LD & Microdata Not a Risk

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google-marking-up-multiple-schemaMost site owners have a preferred markup type when it comes to structured data, or perhaps it is because a favorite plugin that offers easy markup implementation only offers it in one format.  But what about if you have need to use multiple schema types on the same page to support different services that require different types of schema?

Could this result in Google removing all rich snippets from the site with a manual action for spammy structured markup?  Or if the content is the same, does Google not have any issues with it?

I asked Gary Illyes from Google about these types of situations and he confirmed there is no risk of a spammy structured data markup manual action by marking up the same content with two different schema formats.

At issue is Google’s preference now for JSON-LD for marking up structured data – not to mention many developers prefer using JSON-LD for markup as well.  But some other third party services, most notably Pinterest’s rich pins which only use microdata, left many concerned that they could risk a manual action for two types of markup.  Multiple recipe plugins only offer an “either or” option when it comes to schema, without allowing a site to use both, citing manual actions.

So if you want to support multiple schema types on a single page, then marking up the same content multiple ways – such as both JSON-LD and microdata – will run no risk of an issue with Google.

However, if you use it in a spammy way – such as marking up your real content, such as a recipe, one way, while marking it up for “buy viagra in a Canadian casino” in the second format, then you could still run the risk of a spammy structured data markup manual action from Google which would see the site lose all rich snippets in the search results.

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Jennifer Slegg

Founder & Editor at The SEM Post
Jennifer Slegg is a longtime speaker and expert in search engine marketing, working in the industry for almost 20 years. When she isn't sitting at her desk writing and working, she can be found grabbing a latte at her local Starbucks or planning her next trip to Disneyland. She regularly speaks at Pubcon, SMX, State of Search, Brighton SEO and more, and has been presenting at conferences for over a decade.

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Comments

  1. Google itself recommends “double standards”, have a look at their recommendations for tagging pages containing scholarly articles at scholar.google.com. No mention of JSON-LD here but only microdata.

    • I am not sure specifically about scholarly articles, but they are adding more support for JSON-LD and their documentation tends to be behind for JSON-LD supported schema types – there are multiple types supported that don’t say they are supported in the docs yet.

  2. Thank you for finding out! I have been searching for this answer. Most resources state they aren’t sure, but it’s better NOT to use both types for fear of looking spammy. Microdata allows you to have multiple items tagged, while I can only figure out how to get JSON-LD to show one item out of a group. However, I want to stay compliant with Google’s recommendations, so using both mark-ups was my thought.