Are Bing's rich snippets available in every market?

Definition: Bing separates the processing of structured data annotations from the display of visually rich snippets. Its documentation says that annotations are processed and validated in every market, while visually rich snippets are not supported in every market.

Key facts

• Bing supports Schema.org in HTML Microdata and JSON-LD, together with Microformats, RDFa and Open Graph, according to its structured data documentation.
• The same documentation treats the supported specifications equally for crawler processing.
• Bing says annotations do not change visible page content. They give Bing information about the type of content on a page, which Bing can use to make search results more visual or to supplement and validate data sources.
• Bing's documentation states that rich snippet availability is market-specific, while annotations are processed and validated in every market.
• In its JSON-LD announcement, Bing says that structured data is one clue it uses to understand page content and that JSON-LD is read by search engines even when it is not visible on the page.

What is processed in every market?

An annotation is machine-readable information attached to page content. Bing lists Schema.org with HTML Microdata and JSON-LD, Microformats, RDFa and Open Graph as supported specifications. The documentation treats these specifications equally for crawler processing, so the format can be selected according to the page implementation.

JSON-LD is a structured data format that can sit outside the visible text. Bing's announcement describes it as a JSON-based format for helping Bing and other search engines understand page content. The same announcement says JSON-LD can be placed in the header, body or foot of the page without modifying the page's HTML content.

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Organization",
  "name": "Example organization"
}
</script>

The markup still needs to describe the page accurately. Bing says that invalid or incorrect information in JSON-LD can affect a site's presence in search engines, even though the markup is hidden from page visitors.

Why can the rich display vary by market?

Processing means that Bing can read and validate the annotation. A rich snippet is a visual search result that Bing may generate from annotated content. Bing's documentation treats these as separate stages: the annotation is processed and validated in every market, but the visually rich snippet feature has market-specific support.

The same documentation says that annotations alone are insufficient for a rich snippet. Bing considers the relationship between the annotated content and its surrounding page content. Its crawlers also validate data against the chosen schema and its data types. If a price is supplied as a date, or a date as a price, Bing says it will ignore the annotation. It also gives an event without a date and a person without a name as examples of incomplete data that will be ignored.

Bing says that this processed annotation data helps it prioritize markets as it plans a global rollout of the feature. The page gives no market list or rollout schedule.

What should be checked on a website?

The implementation should use one of Bing's documented annotation specifications and keep its values consistent with the page. The JSON-LD announcement says that Bing Webmaster Tools users can validate JSON-LD through the Markup Validator in the Diagnostics and Tools section. Bing says that the validator supports six markup languages, including Schema.org, HTML Microdata, Microformats, Open Graph and RDFa alongside JSON-LD.

A validation result concerns the annotation and its data types. Market support remains a separate question for the place where a search is performed. The market statement in Bing's documentation describes display availability and provides no commitment that a correctly annotated page will receive a rich presentation.

Related terms

• Structured data
• Does every Schema.org property have a Google rich result feature?
• Can Google process structured data added by JavaScript?
• Bingbot

FAQ

Does processing in every market mean you will see a rich snippet everywhere?

No. You can have annotations processed and validated in a market where the corresponding visually rich snippet display is unavailable.

Should you change the markup format for a specific market?

Bing's documentation expresses no specification preference. You can select Schema.org, Microdata, JSON-LD, Microformats, RDFa or Open Graph from the documented supported formats, then validate the data and its types.

How can you check the annotation itself?

You can use the Bing Webmaster Tools Markup Validator described in Bing's JSON-LD announcement. A validator result checks the markup; Bing's documentation supplies no market list for rich snippet displays.

Sources

1. Bing Webmaster Tools, "Marking Up Your Site with Structured Data", undated
2. Bing Webmaster Blog, "Introducing JSON-LD Support in Bing Webmaster Tools", 30 July 2018

---

Check how a page reads to answer engines. Open the GEO score analyzer