What is Person structured data, and how do you add it?

What is Person structured data?

Person structured data is a standardized format for classifying page content and providing explicit clues about the individuals described on a website. Google documents that search engines use structured data to understand web page content and gather information about people, books, or companies across the web.

Adding structured data can enable search results that are more engaging to users, known as rich results, which might encourage users to interact more with your website. Google recommends using JSON-LD for structured data if your site setup allows it, as it is the easiest solution for website owners to implement and maintain at scale and is less prone to user errors.

Which properties describe an individual in Person markup?

Person markup relies on standardized properties from Schema.org to describe an individual. Schema.org defines properties to indicate an organization that a person is affiliated with, such as a school, university, club, or team. It also includes properties like url or sameAs to provide the URL of a reference web page that unambiguously indicates the item's identity, such as a Wikipedia page, Wikidata entry, or official website.

Schema.org also specifies properties to indicate a topic that is known about by a person, suggesting possible expertise without implying it, or to express assertions of knowledge, skill, ability, or task competency. Additionally, markup for creative works can specify a Person who has reviewed the content for accuracy or completeness, or who is legally accountable for the work.

How do you add Person markup to author profiles and articles?

ProfilePage markup is designed for sites where creators share first-hand perspectives, provided the primary focus of the page is a single person or organization affiliated with the overall website. Google documents that adding this markup helps Google Search understand creators that post in an online community and show better content from that community in search results, including the Discussions and Forums feature. The markup indicates the primary entity described on the page.

When adding author information to article pages, Google notes that adding Article structured data helps Google understand the page and show better title text, images, and date information in search results on Google Search and other properties like Google News and Google Assistant. You must include a link to a web page that uniquely identifies the author, and Google can understand both sameAs and url when disambiguating authors. Google guidelines require that all authors presented on the web page are also included in the markup, along with all required properties for the rich result type.

How do you troubleshoot and validate Person structured data?

To remain eligible for rich result appearance in Google Search results, structured data must not violate Google Search content policies or spam policies. Google guidelines explicitly state that you must not mark up content that is not visible to readers of the page, nor impersonate any person or organization or misrepresent ownership or affiliation. You must also specify all required properties listed in the documentation for your specific rich result type.

1. 01Verify that every author displayed visually on the web page is included in your structured data markup.
2. 02Check that all required properties listed in search engine documentation for your specific rich result type are specified.
3. 03Confirm that structured data only marks up content visible to readers and does not impersonate any person or misrepresent affiliations.

How does Person markup connect to Organization structured data?

Person structured data connects to organization details by indicating an organization that a person is affiliated with. Google recommends adding Organization structured data to your home page, or a single page that describes your organization such as an about us page, to help Google better understand administrative details and disambiguate your organization in search results.

While Google states there are no required properties for Organization markup, it recommends adding as many relevant properties as possible, including URLs of pages on other websites with additional information about your organization. When linking individuals and organizations, Google guidelines require that you do not misrepresent affiliations, primary purposes, or ownership.

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