What does comment* mean in a Search Console enhancement error?

Definition: In Google's rich result report overview, comment* labels a field nested inside itself one or more times. (in "comment") identifies a top-level comment, while (in "comment*") groups issues found in nested reply comments at any depth.

Key facts

• Google's rich result report overview says an asterisk in a field name marks self-nesting. Its example uses comment*.
• The same documentation distinguishes (in "comment") for a top-level comment from (in "comment*") for nested reply comments at any depth.
• Google Search Central's DiscussionForumPosting documentation recommends nesting comments under the post they relate to and using a comment tree when a forum has its own threading structure.
• The DiscussionForumPosting documentation defines comment as a comment or response to the post and says to mark comments in the order in which they appear on the page.
• Search Console can associate one issue with structured data items on different pages or with several items on one page.

What does the asterisk group?

The asterisk is part of Search Console's issue label. It tells you that the named field occurs inside another instance of the same field. In this case, comment* describes the nested path to a reply comment. It is a grouping marker for the report, so read it as a location in the structured data tree.

Google gives the two labels together:

(in "comment")
(in "comment*")

The first label points to a comment directly under its parent object. The second covers reply comments nested inside a comment, including deeper reply levels. The asterisk therefore groups the nested replies under one issue label rather than naming a separate schema property.

How does this relate to nested comment markup?

Google's DiscussionForumPosting documentation recommends nesting comments under the post they relate to. For a forum with threaded replies, it shows a Comment containing another comment property with another Comment object:

"comment": [{
  "@type": "Comment",
  "comment": [{
    "@type": "Comment"
  }]
}]

That structure explains why a report can identify an issue inside comment*: the nested reply is represented below a parent comment in the markup tree. Google also describes a linear discussion differently, with replies nested under the original post as comments. The visible discussion structure determines which comment relationship the markup represents.

The same documentation describes comment as a comment about or response to the post and says to mark comments in the order in which they appear on the page. It also says each Comment should include the entire text of the response when that response is found on the page.

What should you inspect when the error is in comment*?

Open the issue details and locate the affected structured data in the page source. The comment* label narrows the search to a nested reply path. Check the reply's own fields and the Comment object that contains it, then compare that structure with the visible reply relationship.

Search Console's report documentation says an issue can affect items on different pages or several items on one page. It also says the report is a sample of detected items. A row with comment* therefore identifies the reported grouping, while the page and its markup provide the context for the individual reply.

To see all issues for one item, Google recommends inspecting the page that hosts the URL or using the Rich Results Test. These checks expose the structured data that supports the report's issue label.

Is comment* a property to add to JSON-LD?

No. Use the actual comment property in the structured data. comment* is the notation shown in the Search Console report for nested occurrences of that property, with the asterisk indicating self-nesting.

Related terms

• Structured data
• JSON-LD
• FAQPage structured data
• Article structured data

FAQ

Does comment* mean one reply level?

No. Google's report help says the label groups nested reply comments at any depth, so the asterisk covers the nested path without specifying a particular level.

Should every reply be nested under the preceding reply?

Use the structure represented by the forum. Google recommends a tree of comments when the forum has its own threading structure. For a linear series of replies, its documentation says to nest them under the original post as comments.

Where can you see the underlying problem?

Inspect the page that hosts the URL or use the Rich Results Test. Search Console's report help recommends both for seeing all issues affecting a single structured data item.

Sources

1. Google Search Console Help, "Rich result report overview", undated
2. Google Search Central, "DiscussionForumPosting structured data", 8 September 2026

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