In short. After a structured data manual action, check every affected page for policy violations, validate the repairs and request review through Search Console.
Definition: As of 17 October 2026, Google describes a structured data manual action as a loss of eligibility for rich results, the enhanced search appearances supported by markup describing page content. The action leaves the page's ranking in Google web search unaffected.
Key facts
- Google's structured data policies require markup to represent visible page content and comply with the rules for the specific search feature.
- The Manual actions report documentation requires repairs across all affected pages before a review request.
- Google's Rich Results Test help explains how to expand detected items and locate their errors in rendered source code.
Where should the check begin?
Google's Manual actions report provides the issue description, a Learn more link and affected page patterns. Its example is:
https://example.com/real-estate/*
This pattern covers some or all pages under real-estate/. Google requires repairs across every affected page and all listed actions.
Which policy violations need checking?
Google's general structured data guidelines require the markup to match the page's visible content. The documentation gives a performer example: when markup describes a performer, the HTML body must describe that same performer. It prohibits fake reviews and information unrelated to the page's focus. Time-sensitive information must remain current, and the relevant feature guide supplies additional content policies.
The same guidelines give examples of irrelevant markup: a sports streaming site labeling broadcasts as local events, and a woodworking site labeling instructions as recipes. They also require placing markup on the page it describes, unless the relevant documentation specifies otherwise.
What should technical validation cover?
Google's policy documentation says automated tools have difficulty testing quality guidelines. Syntactically correct markup can still violate them. The same documentation requires every mandatory property for the relevant rich result type, and requires image URLs in markup to be crawlable and indexable.
The Rich Results Test accepts a live URL or a code snippet. Its results identify detected types, errors and suggestions; expanding an item opens details and links to the corresponding rendered code. A live URL test also depends on resources being accessible without authentication. Google's manual action workflow calls for checking affected pages with URL Inspection, Search Console's page inspection tool, so Google can reach them for review.
What belongs in the review request?
Google's review workflow uses Request Review after repairs. The request explains the quality issue, describes the fixes and documents their outcome.
Most reviews take several days or weeks. Google emails confirmation and completion messages and instructs owners to await a decision before resubmitting. Google revokes the structured data action when its review determines that the site complies.
Related terms
FAQ
Can I remove the offending markup?
Yes. Google's structured data remediation instructions allow updating or removing offending markup before you request review.
Does passing a markup test ensure a rich result appears?
Google's structured data policies describe rich result display as dependent on factors including location, device type and search history. A technically valid page remains subject to quality policies and Google's selection of search features.
Sources
- Google Search Central, "General structured data guidelines", updated 10 July 2026
- Google Search Console Help, "Manual actions report", undated
- Google Search Console Help, "Rich Results Test", undated
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