Structured Data Markup Helper: is Google's tool still available?

Google’s Structured Data Markup Helper still works. We loaded the tool on 2026-09-26 and it returned a normal page, and none of the Google documentation we reviewed announces its retirement. What has changed is the emphasis around it: Google’s current guidance is built around JSON-LD written into the page and checked with the Rich Results Test, with the helper described as a way to get basic markup started.

What is Google’s Structured Data Markup Helper?#

It is a point-and-click tool for producing structured data. According to Google’s help article, you pick a data type, enter a public URL or paste raw HTML, choose Start Tagging, then highlight parts of the page and tell the tool what each one is. When the required fields are filled, Create HTML produces the markup.

The page has two tabs. The Website tab lists 12 data types: Articles, Book Reviews, Datasets, Events, Job Postings, Local Businesses, Movies, Products, Question & Answer Page, Restaurants, Software Applications and TV Episodes. The Email tab covers 9 reservation and order types, such as flight reservations and parcel delivery, for markup inside HTML emails.

Is the Structured Data Markup Helper deprecated?#

Not according to anything Google has published. The help article carries no deprecation notice. Google’s Search Central page Maintaining your website’s SEO, last updated 2025-12-18, still tells site owners who want a little help to use the WYSIWYG Structured Data Markup helper to generate basic structured data.

That wording matters. Google calls the output basic, and the helper only knows about the elements you tag. The markup is a one-off copy: if the page changes, you regenerate it or edit it by hand. We found no Google statement on when the tool was last updated, so we will not guess one.

What does Google recommend instead for creating structured data?#

JSON-LD, added to the page directly. Google’s general structured data guidelines, last updated 2026-07-10, list three supported formats, JSON-LD, Microdata and RDFa, and mark JSON-LD as recommended. The intro to structured data explains why: it is the easiest format to implement and maintain at scale, and less prone to user error.

The helper does not contradict this. Its own help page labels JSON-LD as preferred by Google and offers Microdata as the second option. If you use it, choose JSON-LD, since that output is pasted into the page as one block rather than replacing the page’s HTML.

If you would rather build the block yourself, our schema markup generator writes JSON-LD for common types, and the breadcrumb schema generator handles BreadcrumbList. Either way, the markup has to describe content that is visible on the page.

How do you test structured data from the Markup Helper?#

Google’s help article points to the Rich Results Test. Google’s schema markup testing tools page describes it as the official tool for seeing which Google rich results your markup can generate, and names the Schema Markup Validator for checking any schema.org markup without Google-specific warnings. That validator is where the old Structured Data Testing Tool went: Google removed its Google-specific checks and moved it to a new domain. After publishing, the intro page recommends the URL Inspection tool to confirm Google found the markup.

Before you paste anything live, our JSON-LD validator catches syntax errors and missing properties, and type-specific checks such as the FAQPage required fields checker and the product snippet schema checker show what Google lists as required for those types.

Is Data Highlighter a better option?#

Only if you cannot edit the page at all. Data Highlighter lives inside Search Console and teaches Google the structure of your pages without changing their code. Google’s About Data Highlighter article says it only works on pages Google has crawled recently, not on pages behind a sign-in, and not on pages that already carry markup. Google’s own SEO maintenance guide adds that it is simple but can break if you change the page layout.

Why we care#

The helper is still a fair way to see what a finished block of structured data looks like for your own page. It is not a maintenance strategy. For markup that survives redesigns, write JSON-LD into the template, validate it, and check it in the Rich Results Test whenever the template changes.