URL: /rules/schema/rating-scope

---
title: "Rating Scope"
description: "Finds AggregateRating markup that is not about the page it sits on, or that no reader can see"
---

Finds AggregateRating markup that is not about the page it sits on, or that no reader can see

| | |
|---|---|
| **Rule ID** | `schema/rating-scope` |
| **Category** | [Structured Data](/rules/schema) |
| **Scope** | Per-page |
| **Severity** | warning |
| **Weight** | 4/10 |

## How it works

[Review Schema](/rules/schema/review) checks the *shape* of `AggregateRating`: does it have a
`ratingValue`, does it have a `ratingCount` or `reviewCount`. A single sitewide rating block
emitted by a template satisfies all of that on every page of the site — including the privacy
policy, the terms page and every blog post. This rule asks the two questions the shape check
cannot:

1. **Can a reader see a rating on this page at all?** Google requires the rating to be visible in
   the page content. Rating markup that exists only in the JSON-LD is a structured-data policy
   violation, not a validation error, and it is the classic cause of a manual action.
2. **Is the rated entity the subject of this page?** A `LocalBusiness` rating attached to a
   privacy policy, a terms page or a blog post is a rating of the site, not of the page carrying
   it.

Repetition on its own is deliberately **not** the signal. On a legitimate local-business site the
review badge really is on screen on most pages, and the rating really is about the business the
page is about — a rule that fired on "AggregateRating appears on many pages" would flag every one
of them. What is reported is the relationship between the rating and the page it sits on.

The rule stays quiet unless it has grounds to speak:

- A page with no `AggregateRating` produces no output at all.
- A rating visible anywhere in the rendered page text clears the visibility check — a star badge
  (`★★★★★ 4.9`), "4.9 out of 5", "18 reviews", a decimal rating printed in the copy, or the same
  wording in `alt` / `aria-label` / `title` text.
- A third-party review widget (Trustpilot, Yotpo, Judge.me, Elfsight and friends) renders its
  badge client-side, so the rating is legitimately absent from a raw-HTML crawl. Its presence
  clears the visibility check rather than accusing the page.
- The subject check runs only on page types where a rating cannot be about the page: privacy
  policies, terms pages and articles or blog posts. Everything else — homepages, location pages,
  product pages, category pages — is left alone.
- On an article the subject check reports only a rating attached to the site's own business or
  organization entity. An article that reviews a `Product` legitimately carries that product's
  rating.

Each finding names the page type and the rated entity, so it reads as "this `LocalBusiness` rating
is on your privacy policy", not as a missing field.

## Solution

`AggregateRating` must describe the thing **this** page is about, and the rating has to be visible
to the reader in the page content. A single sitewide rating emitted by a template lands on pages
that cannot be rated, where it becomes a self-serving rating of the site rather than markup about
the page.

Google treats invisible or off-topic rating markup as a structured-data policy violation and
issues manual actions for it, which costs the whole site its rich results — not just the page that
was flagged.

- Move the rating onto the pages whose subject it actually describes: the `LocalBusiness` on the
  homepage and location pages, the `Product` on its own product page.
- Drop the rating block from templates that render legal pages and blog posts.
- Where a page keeps the markup, make sure the same rating is on screen for readers, with the same
  value the markup claims.

## Enable / Disable

### Disable this rule

```toml squirrel.toml
[rules]
disable = ["schema/rating-scope"]
```

### Disable all Structured Data rules

```toml squirrel.toml
[rules]
disable = ["schema/*"]
```

### Enable only this rule

```toml squirrel.toml
[rules]
enable = ["schema/rating-scope"]
disable = ["*"]
```