Library·SOP·SEO
Identify whether a WordPress URL is an article or simple WooCommerce product, check its current search data, then choose one approved setup or a clear owner handoff.
Last reviewed: · Editorial review
Clarity, structure and references reviewed in this version. This is not a test in a live account.
Identify whether a WordPress URL is an article or simple WooCommerce product, check its current search data, then choose one approved setup or a clear owner handoff.
This SOP covers:
This does not cover:
Structured data is page information written in a format search tools can read. Here, Article means an article page and Product means a page where customers can buy one item. Choose by the page's purpose and editor type.
Create or open a short note titled Structured data check in the page's work record. If there is no work record, use the plain-text place where your team tracks website changes. Add the complete public URL, what visitors mainly come to read or buy, and today's date. Reuse this note when you test the page.
In WordPress, open the page in its editor or find it in the content list. Record whether it is a standard Post, a WooCommerce Product, a Page, or another content type. Then follow the description that matches its main purpose:
If this is a published WordPress Post whose main purpose is to share an article, story, tutorial, or ordinary blog post, record Article. A product mention or link inside the article does not make it a shop Product page. Factual news publishing and a Product review result are outside this family's Article method.
If this is a WooCommerce Product page where customers buy the item on that page, check its product type. Record Simple product only when it is one item without selectable sizes, colors, or other variations. Its type stays Product even when it is out of stock; check availability separately. A blog post reviewing or recommending an item is still an article for this choice.
If the editor shows a WordPress Page, archive, custom type, factual news Post, variable or other WooCommerce product, or an editorial product review that specifically needs Product-review data, record that exact type and purpose. This family does not choose a method for it; do not label it Article or Simple product to force a match.
See the current page information before anyone changes a plugin or field. The test can report Google-supported search features, but it cannot name the plugin that produced them.
Use the linked Rich Results Test guide to test the same complete URL. Reuse the Structured data check note and record detected item types, status, important values, and any issue or fetch error. Return here with the result before selecting a correction method.
Compare the main detected item with the page's purpose and visible information. Record both exact values when something differs; ask the page owner to confirm the correct value from the source record. Use the matching case below:
For a standard article Post, expect an Article item. For a WooCommerce Simple product page, expect a Product item even when it is out of stock; check availability separately. If an expected item is missing, keep the gap open and continue to the source/provider route. Record No supported item requested; no correction needed only when the site owner confirms none is wanted. If you do not know what item is intended, ask the owner. A no-item result does not prove all structured data is absent.
If the expected Article or Product item is present, its important values match confirmed page information, and no required issue remains, write No correction needed now in the note. Leave its current source alone; do not add another generator just to repeat an accurate item.
For a product, Google may show Product snippets and Merchant listings as separate feature sections for the same Product. Two sections alone do not prove duplicate markup. A breadcrumb is a different item; it shows where the page sits on the site, such as Home > Shop > Product. If details appear repeated or conflict within a relevant result, record the section and both values, then have the site owner identify the source.
If a supported item was expected but is missing, an important value differs, or a test issue remains, record the expected item or both exact values and keep the owner decision open. Do not assume Google's value or the visible page is automatically right.
Use an existing provider that the site has already chosen. Each linked guide handles its own field settings and retest, so this chooser does not repeat those clicks.
Use the editor type, main page purpose, confirmed plugin choice, and current test result to choose one path:
For an ordinary published WordPress Post whose main purpose is an article, use the Rank Math route only when Rank Math is already active and the site has chosen it to own Article output. Follow the linked Rank Math Article guide for source checks and any correction.
For an ordinary published WordPress Post whose main purpose is an article, use the Yoast route only when Yoast SEO is already active and the site has chosen it to own Article output. Follow the linked Yoast Article guide for its graph and any correction.
For one WooCommerce Simple product with no selectable variations, follow the linked WooCommerce product guide. It checks WooCommerce source fields and hands off an output-source conflict; it does not assume another active plugin is the core generator.
If both Rank Math and Yoast are active and the site has not chosen one to provide Article data, ask the owner which single provider is intended. If the provider is known but the test shows repeated/conflicting Article data, or a theme/custom source may also contribute, send the exact evidence to the site maintainer to trace the conflict. Include the URL, WordPress editor type, item types and statuses, both values for any mismatch, and active providers you confirmed. Do not pick a plugin or change settings by guess.
For a Page, archive, custom type, factual news article, variable or other non-simple product, or editorial Product review markup, ask the site owner for the intended supported type and its source owner. Include the URL, the editor type and product options if relevant, the visitor-facing purpose, and the Rich Results Test result. Use the method only after an approved guide covers that case.
In Structured data check, record the page purpose and editor type, the exact test URL and result, whether current output already matches confirmed page information, and one next step: no correction, the selected related guide, or a named owner handoff. After a linked method is complete, return to this note and keep its final same-URL test outcome with the original decision.
