The sameAs Declaration

We have referenced sameAs throughout Modules 2 and 3. It appeared in Organization schema, Person schema, and the linking strategy sessions. Now we examine it in depth, because sameAs is the single most misunderstood property in Schema.org, and misunderstanding it weakens your entire entity linking strategy.

What sameAs Actually Means

The Schema.org definition of sameAs is precise: "URL of a reference Web page that unambiguously indicates the item's identity." Not "related to." Not "associated with." Not "similar to." The word is same. The URL you provide in sameAs must refer to the exact same entity.

What Belongs in sameAs

sameAs for Organizations vs. Persons

If your entity has both an Organization schema and a Person schema, their sameAs arrays should contain different URLs.

The Organization's sameAs includes company profiles. The Person's sameAs includes personal profiles. Do not mix them. If your personal LinkedIn appears in the Organization's sameAs, you are telling Google that your personal LinkedIn profile IS the organization. That is incorrect and creates confusion.

The Wikidata Exception

Wikidata deserves special attention. A Wikidata item URL in your sameAs array is one of the strongest entity signals available. Wikidata is a structured knowledge base maintained by the Wikimedia Foundation. Google has historically used Wikidata as a primary source for Knowledge Graph entries.

If your entity has a Wikidata item, its URL (e.g., https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q12345678) should be in your sameAs array. If your entity does not have a Wikidata item, creating one is covered in Module 5.

Code Example: Complete sameAs

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Organization",
  "@id": "https://www.example.com/#organization",
  "name": "Example Industries",
  "url": "https://www.example.com",
  "sameAs": [
    "https://www.linkedin.com/company/example-industries",
    "https://www.facebook.com/exampleindustries",
    "https://twitter.com/exampleind",
    "https://www.instagram.com/exampleindustries/",
    "https://www.youtube.com/@exampleindustries",
    "https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/example-industries",
    "https://github.com/example-industries",
    "https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q12345678",
    "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Example_Industries"
  ]
}
</script>

How Google Processes sameAs

Google does not blindly trust sameAs declarations. It cross-references them:

1. Google crawls your page and reads the sameAs URLs.
2. Google crawls each sameAs URL.
3. Google checks whether the sameAs destination contains information consistent with your entity (name, description, imagery).
4. Google checks whether the sameAs destination links back to your website.
5. If the data is consistent and the link is bidirectional, the connection is confirmed.
6. If the data is inconsistent or the destination does not reference your entity, the sameAs is weakened or ignored.

This is why the work you did in Sessions 3.2 and 3.3 matters. sameAs is the formal declaration. The visible links and profile backlinks are the supporting evidence.

Common sameAs Mistakes

• Including too many URLs. Only include genuine identity pages. A sameAs array with 30 URLs, half of them directory listings, dilutes the signal.
• Including dead URLs. A sameAs link to a deleted Facebook page creates a broken reference.
• Using non-canonical URLs. m.facebook.com instead of www.facebook.com. Use the canonical version.
• Mixing Organization and Person profiles. As discussed above, keep them in their respective schemas.
• Omitting Wikidata. If you have a Wikidata item, not including it is a missed opportunity for one of the strongest entity signals.

Further Reading

• Schema.org: sameAs Property Definition
• W3C: OWL sameAs Definition (foundational specification)
• Google: Social Profile and Logo Structured Data
• Wikidata: Understanding Items