What is sameAs markup?

sameAs markup is a property in schema.org structured data that points to other web pages which identify the same entity. Schema.org defines sameAs as the "URL of a reference Web page that unambiguously indicates the item's identity", giving the item's Wikipedia page, Wikidata entry or official website as examples [1].

A company's homepage might carry Organization markup with sameAs links to its LinkedIn page, its Wikidata entry and its profile on a major review site. Those links tell a search engine: the organization described here is the same one described on these pages. That helps the search engine merge what it knows from all of them into one entity instead of several partial ones.

How does sameAs markup work?

sameAs markup works by listing one or more URLs inside an entity's structured data, usually in JSON-LD. Search engines reading the markup can treat each listed page as another description of the same entity. Here is a typical example on an organization's homepage or About page:

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Organization",
  "name": "Example Coffee Roasters",
  "url": "https://www.example.com/",
  "logo": "https://www.example.com/logo.png",
  "sameAs": [
    "https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q00000000",
    "https://www.linkedin.com/company/example-coffee-roasters",
    "https://www.instagram.com/examplecoffee"
  ]
}
</script>

sameAs is a property of Thing, the most general schema.org type, so it is valid on every type: Organization, Person, LocalBusiness, Product, Book and so on [1]. Its expected value is a URL, and you can list as many as genuinely apply [1] [3].

What does Google say about sameAs?

Google documents sameAs as a recommended property in its Organization, ProfilePage and Article structured data guides, always as a way to identify an entity. Google's Organization guide describes sameAs as "the URL of a page on another website with additional information about your organization", such as a profile on a social media or review site, and says you can provide multiple URLs [3]. The same guide says Organization markup can help Google disambiguate your organization in search results [3].

For people, Google's ProfilePage guide describes sameAs as the URL to other external profiles or home pages for the person or organization [4]. For article authors, Google says it "can understand both sameAs and url when disambiguating authors" [5].

Google has never said that sameAs markup affects rankings, and it has not said that sameAs alone will make a knowledge panel appear.

When was sameAs added to schema.org?

The sameAs property was added to schema.org in July 2013, in the schema.org 1.0b update, as a property of Thing that makes it easier to indicate identifying URLs for an entity [2]. Google's use of social profile markup for knowledge panels changed in 2019, but sameAs itself remains part of Google's current structured data documentation [3].

2013: added to schema.org

A July 24, 2013 announcement of the schema.org 1.0b update listed "addition of http://schema.org/sameAs", describing it as a property on Thing for indicating identifying URLs for entities being described [2].

2019: Google stops using social profile markup for knowledge panels

In June 2019, Google deprecated its social profile markup for knowledge panels, the markup site owners used to tell Google which social accounts to show [6]. Google said it would discover relevant social profiles automatically instead, and that people who had claimed a knowledge panel could suggest missing ones [6] [7].

Many guides still describe sameAs as the way to get social icons into a knowledge panel. That has not been how Google says it works since 2019.

2020s: still a recommended property

Google's Organization documentation, last updated in September 2026, still lists sameAs as a property for linking to profile pages on other sites [3], and the ProfilePage and Article guides use it to identify people and authors [4] [5]. In 2020, Google listed structured data from content owners among the sources behind its Knowledge Graph, alongside Wikipedia and many other sources [8].

What URLs should go in sameAs?

Put URLs in sameAs only when the page is about the same entity and controlled by, or authoritative about, that entity. Good candidates:

  • Wikidata and Wikipedia entries for the entity, if they exist.
  • Official social profiles run by the entity.
  • Official profiles on authoritative databases for the field: a company registry page, Crunchbase, a professional body listing, an author's page on a publisher site.
  • Established directory and review profiles that are clearly the entity's own listing.

Search Insider's free Foundation Links list of 300 business directories and profiles is a starting point for building the profiles a business can then list in sameAs.

What are common sameAs mistakes?

The most common sameAs mistake is listing pages that mention the entity rather than pages that identify it. Schema.org's definition requires a page that "unambiguously indicates the item's identity" [1]. Other frequent mistakes:

  • News articles or blog posts about you. Coverage mentions an entity. It is not a reference page for its identity.
  • Pages on your own site. Your homepage belongs in url. sameAs is for other websites [3].
  • Another entity's profile. A founder's LinkedIn profile belongs on the founder's Person markup, not in the company's Organization sameAs.
  • Dead or redirected profiles. Abandoned accounts point search engines at stale information.
  • Inconsistent details. If the linked profiles show a different name, address or description, sameAs links two conflicting descriptions together rather than confirming one.
  • Missing visible content. Markup should describe what is on the page. A sameAs block on a page that never names the entity is weak evidence.

What is the difference between sameAs and url?

The url property gives the entity's own website, while sameAs lists pages on other websites that describe the same entity. In Organization markup, url is your homepage and sameAs is your profiles elsewhere [3]. Google says it can use both when disambiguating article authors [5], so on a Person, url can point to the author's bio page and sameAs to their external profiles.

What is the difference between sameAs and @id?

@id is a JSON-LD identifier that names an entity so other markup on your site can refer to it, while sameAs connects the entity to pages on other websites. Use @id to say "the publisher of this article is the same Organization defined on the homepage". Use sameAs to say "that Organization is also the one on these external profiles". They do different jobs and are often used together.

Does sameAs markup help SEO?

sameAs markup helps SEO indirectly, by helping search engines identify an entity and connect it to its profiles, not by improving rankings. It is part of entity SEO: useful when a brand or person name is ambiguous, when a business is new, or when Google shows the wrong profiles or facts.

sameAs cannot create recognition that does not exist elsewhere. Google says Knowledge Graph facts come from many sources [8], and it has discovered social profiles automatically since 2019 [6]. sameAs links make the connections explicit. The profiles themselves still need to exist, be accurate and match each other.

When should you add sameAs markup?

Add sameAs markup to the Organization markup on your homepage or About page, and to the Person markup on author and team profile pages, as soon as the entity has official profiles elsewhere. Review the list whenever a profile is added, renamed or closed, and remove any URL that no longer clearly identifies the same entity.