🔍 Overview
When deploying a Knowledge Based Trust (KBT) FAQ schema through OTTO SEO, you may encounter a deployment error that reads something like "questions should have answers" — even when every Q&A pair appears to have an answer filled in. This article explains why this happens and how to resolve it.
⚠️ Why This Error Occurs
This error is most commonly caused by one of the following issues, even when the FAQ fields look complete on screen:
- Hidden empty entries: A blank Q&A row exists in your list that is not immediately visible. OTTO validates every row, including ones you may have accidentally added and left empty.
- Whitespace-only answers: An answer field contains only spaces or line breaks, which OTTO does not count as valid content.
- Unsaved edits: Changes made to an answer were not saved before deployment was triggered, leaving the stored value empty.
- Special characters in answers: Certain characters (such as unmatched quotation marks or HTML tags) can cause a field to be rejected during schema validation.
- Answer field character limit: Answers that exceed the allowed character limit may be silently truncated or rejected, resulting in an effectively empty value at the schema level.
🛠️ How to Resolve the Error
- Open your FAQ schema in OTTO SEO and navigate to the Q&A section for the affected page.
- Scroll through every Q&A entry — including any rows below the fold. Look for any row where the answer field is blank, contains only spaces, or shows placeholder text.
- Delete any empty or incomplete rows by clicking the remove/delete icon next to that entry. You do not need a minimum of 8 Q&As remove any that are not fully complete.
- Check each remaining answer to confirm it contains real, readable text with no leading or trailing whitespace.
- Re-save each Q&A entry individually by clicking the save or confirm button on that row before proceeding.
- Attempt deployment again once all entries are confirmed complete and saved.
💡 Tips to Prevent This Error
- Always save each Q&A row immediately after entering the answer — do not rely on a single bulk save before deployment.
- Avoid copying and pasting text from Word or Google Docs without first pasting it into a plain-text editor to strip hidden formatting characters.
- Keep answers between 50 and 300 characters as a safe range to stay within schema validation limits.
- Review your FAQ list one final time before clicking Deploy to catch any overlooked empty rows.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
I can see answers in all 8 rows — why is OTTO still rejecting the deployment?
Scroll down to check whether a 9th or later row exists below the visible area. Even a single empty row will trigger the validation error for the entire schema block. Delete any incomplete rows and redeploy.
Will deleting empty rows affect my live FAQ schema?
No. Removing an empty row that was never successfully deployed will not affect any content currently live on your website. Only fully deployed Q&As are written to your schema.
Does the order of Q&A pairs matter for deployment?
The order does not affect whether deployment succeeds, but it does control the sequence in which questions appear in your FAQ schema markup. Reorder entries as needed before deploying.
📞 Still Need Help?
If you have followed all the steps above and the deployment error persists, our team is ready to investigate further. If you need further assistance, open the chat widget in the bottom-right corner of the platform and type human teammate to be connected with a member of our team.