Google increasingly understands the web through entities, not just keywords. When Google recognizes your company or author as a distinct entity, it can connect your content across the web, associate it with knowledge panels, and make stronger relevance determinations. Organization and Person schema serve as explicit declarations of who you are and how you’re connected to the broader web.
This isn’t about immediate rich results. It’s about establishing the entity foundation that powers how Google understands everything else you do online.
Entity Identity and Why It Matters
An entity in Google’s understanding is a distinct, identifiable thing: a person, company, place, concept. The Knowledge Graph connects these entities through relationships. When your business becomes a recognized entity, Google can:
Connect your website to your Google Business Profile, social profiles, and third-party mentions. Understand that content authored by “Dr. Michael Chen” across different sites refers to the same person. Associate your company’s authority signals across all owned and mentioned properties.
Entity recognition influences E-E-A-T assessment. Google’s quality systems look for signals that content comes from credible, identifiable sources. Schema markup that establishes entity identity contributes to this evaluation.
The Knowledge Panel represents the most visible outcome of entity recognition. When someone searches your company or personal name, a Knowledge Panel with verified information indicates strong entity establishment. Not every business earns one, but Organization and Person schema contribute to eligibility.
Nashville businesses competing for visibility benefit from entity-building because local search increasingly connects entity signals. Your company’s identity consistency across schema, GBP, citations, and third-party mentions strengthens overall local authority.
Organization Schema Fundamentals
Organization schema declares your company’s identity and connects it to your web presence.
Core properties every Organization implementation needs:
name matches your official business name. Consistency with Google Business Profile, social profiles, and legal registrations matters.
url points to your primary website.
logo provides your official company logo. Google may use this in various displays.
{
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Organization",
"name": "Nashville Digital Solutions",
"url": "https://www.nashvilledigital.example.com",
"logo": "https://www.nashvilledigital.example.com/images/logo.png"
}This minimal implementation establishes basic identity. Enhanced implementations add connections that strengthen entity recognition.
Critical Properties: sameAs and contactPoint
sameAs connects your organization to authoritative external profiles. This property tells Google: “These other web presences are the same entity.”
"sameAs": [
"https://www.facebook.com/nashvilledigitalsolutions",
"https://www.linkedin.com/company/nashvilledigitalsolutions",
"https://twitter.com/nashdigitalsol",
"https://www.instagram.com/nashvilledigitalsolutions",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nashville_Digital_Solutions"
]Include only verified, official profiles you control or that genuinely represent your organization. Wikipedia entries (if you have one) carry particular authority for entity verification.
Don’t include:
- Profiles you don’t control
- Third-party review sites (Yelp, TripAdvisor) unless they have verified profile URLs
- Broken links or non-existent profiles
- Personal social accounts for company Organization schema
contactPoint provides official contact channels:
"contactPoint": [
{
"@type": "ContactPoint",
"telephone": "+1-615-555-0123",
"contactType": "customer service",
"areaServed": "US",
"availableLanguage": "English"
},
{
"@type": "ContactPoint",
"telephone": "+1-615-555-0124",
"contactType": "sales",
"areaServed": "US"
}
]ContactType values include: customer service, technical support, billing support, sales, reservations.
Organization Placement and Structure
Organization schema belongs on your homepage. Placing it on every page creates redundancy; the homepage implementation establishes your site’s organizational identity.
For comprehensive Organization schema:
{
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Organization",
"name": "Nashville Digital Solutions",
"alternateName": "NDS",
"url": "https://www.nashvilledigital.example.com",
"logo": {
"@type": "ImageObject",
"url": "https://www.nashvilledigital.example.com/images/logo.png",
"width": 300,
"height": 60
},
"image": "https://www.nashvilledigital.example.com/images/office.jpg",
"description": "Digital marketing and web development agency serving businesses across Tennessee.",
"foundingDate": "2015",
"address": {
"@type": "PostalAddress",
"streetAddress": "500 Commerce Street, Suite 200",
"addressLocality": "Nashville",
"addressRegion": "TN",
"postalCode": "37203",
"addressCountry": "US"
},
"telephone": "+1-615-555-0123",
"email": "info@nashvilledigital.example.com",
"sameAs": [
"https://www.facebook.com/nashvilledigitalsolutions",
"https://www.linkedin.com/company/nashvilledigitalsolutions",
"https://twitter.com/nashdigitalsol"
],
"founder": {
"@type": "Person",
"name": "Sarah Johnson",
"sameAs": "https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahjohnson"
},
"numberOfEmployees": {
"@type": "QuantitativeValue",
"minValue": 25,
"maxValue": 50
},
"areaServed": {
"@type": "State",
"name": "Tennessee"
}
}This comprehensive schema provides extensive entity signals. Not every property is required, but more relevant information strengthens entity recognition.
Organization Subtypes
Organization has specialized subtypes for specific business categories:
| Subtype | Best For | Additional Properties |
|---|---|---|
| Corporation | Large companies | tickerSymbol, ownershipFundingInfo |
| LocalBusiness | Physical locations | openingHours, geo, priceRange |
| EducationalOrganization | Schools, universities | alumni |
| GovernmentOrganization | Government agencies | jurisdiction |
| NGO | Nonprofits | nonprofitStatus |
| SportsOrganization | Teams, leagues | sport |
For Nashville businesses with physical locations, LocalBusiness often makes more sense than Organization because it unlocks location-specific features. Use Organization for corporate entities, holding companies, or online-only businesses without physical locations.
Person Schema for Authors and Leaders
Person schema establishes individual identity, particularly important for content authors and company leaders.
Basic Person implementation:
{
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Person",
"name": "Dr. Michael Chen",
"url": "https://www.example.com/author/michael-chen",
"image": "https://www.example.com/images/michael-chen.jpg",
"jobTitle": "Chief Medical Officer",
"worksFor": {
"@type": "Organization",
"name": "Nashville Health Partners"
}
}sameAs for Person connects the individual to their external presence:
"sameAs": [
"https://www.linkedin.com/in/drmichaelchen",
"https://twitter.com/drmichaelchen",
"https://orcid.org/0000-0001-2345-6789",
"https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=EXAMPLE"
]For YMYL content (health, finance, legal), Person schema connecting authors to verifiable credentials carries particular weight. Including ORCID for academics, medical license lookups, or other credentialing sources strengthens expertise signals.
Connecting Person to Article Content
Person schema on author pages establishes the author entity. Article schema on content pages should reference this entity:
On author page (/author/michael-chen):
{
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Person",
"@id": "https://www.example.com/author/michael-chen#person",
"name": "Dr. Michael Chen",
"url": "https://www.example.com/author/michael-chen",
"sameAs": ["https://www.linkedin.com/in/drmichaelchen"]
}On article page:
{
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Article",
"headline": "Understanding Cardiovascular Health",
"author": {
"@id": "https://www.example.com/author/michael-chen#person"
}
}The @id reference connects the article’s author property to the fully-defined Person entity, creating a relationship Google can follow.
Knowledge Panel Influence
Organization and Person schema contribute to Knowledge Panel eligibility, though they don’t guarantee panels appear.
Knowledge Panels emerge when Google has high confidence about an entity. Factors include:
- Wikipedia or Wikidata presence
- Consistent information across authoritative sources
- Verified Google Business Profile (for local businesses)
- Official website with clear entity declaration
- Media coverage and third-party mentions
Schema markup supports this by:
- Explicitly declaring who you are
- Connecting your website to other verified presences
- Providing structured information Google can cross-reference
For claiming or suggesting edits to existing Knowledge Panels, Google provides verification processes through Google Business Profile (for businesses) or the Knowledge Panel claim process (for individuals).
Implementation Best Practices
Homepage gets Organization. One Organization schema per website, on the homepage.
Author pages get Person. Each author with their own page should have Person schema on that page.
Cross-reference entities. Articles reference author entities. Author entities reference the organization. Organization references founders/key people.
Keep sameAs current. Dead links, renamed profiles, or abandoned accounts in sameAs weaken rather than strengthen entity signals.
Match information everywhere. Your schema name, address, phone should match GBP, social profiles, and on-page content exactly.
Update when things change. New logo? Update schema. New office? Update address. New social profile? Add to sameAs.
| Schema Type | Placement | Update Frequency |
|---|---|---|
| Organization | Homepage only | When company info changes |
| Person (author) | Author bio page | When author info changes |
| Person (leader) | About/team page | When role/credentials change |
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Multiple Organization schemas across site. Only homepage needs Organization schema. Other pages don’t benefit from repeating it.
sameAs pointing to unverified profiles. Including profiles you don’t control or that aren’t genuinely your entity confuses rather than helps.
Inconsistent naming. Organization name in schema says “Nashville Digital Solutions” but GBP says “Nashville Digital Solutions, LLC” and social profiles say “Nashville Digital.” Pick one and use it everywhere.
Missing connections. Organization mentions a founder but doesn’t link to that person’s schema. Author writes for the site but no worksFor connection exists.
Outdated information. Former employees still listed. Old addresses. Defunct social profiles. Schema should reflect current state.
Over-optimizing. Stuffing description with keywords, inflating employee counts, claiming unverified credentials. Keep it accurate and verifiable.
Testing Entity Implementation
Google’s Rich Results Test validates syntax but doesn’t confirm entity recognition. For entity schema:
- Test schema syntax with Rich Results Test
- Verify sameAs URLs actually resolve
- Cross-check schema information against GBP and social profiles
- Monitor Knowledge Panel appearance over time
- Use Search Console to track branded query performance
Entity building takes time. Schema implementation today contributes to entity recognition over months, not days. Consistent, accurate information across all touchpoints eventually strengthens Google’s confidence in your entity identity.
Sources
- Schema.org: Organization Type Definition
https://schema.org/Organization
- Schema.org: Person Type Definition
- Google Search Central: Logo Structured Data
https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/structured-data/logo
- Google Knowledge Panel Help
https://support.google.com/knowledgepanel
Entity recognition and Knowledge Panel display depend on many factors beyond schema alone. Focus on overall entity consistency across all web properties while using schema to provide explicit declarations.