What is the sameAs directive for web pages?

sameAs is a schema.org property that tells search engines and AI systems: "this entity on my website is the same entity as this other page elsewhere on the web."

You add it as structured data (JSON-LD) on your site, linking your Organization — or a specific place, person, or event — to authoritative external profiles of that same thing, such as:

• Its Wikidata entry
• Its Wikipedia page
• Official social profiles (Instagram, LinkedIn, X)
• Its Google Knowledge Panel

Example:

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Organization",
  "name": "Launceston Tourism",
  "sameAs": [
    "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Launceston,_Tasmania",
    "https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q179011",
    "https://www.instagram.com/visitlaunceston"
  ]
}

Why it matters

AI systems and search engines build confidence about who you are by cross-referencing your entity across trusted sources. Without a clear sameAs link, a model has to guess whether your brand is the same "Launceston" as the city on Wikipedia, or something unrelated entirely.

That ambiguity has a real cost: when a model can't confirm your identity with confidence, it tends to hedge or skip citing you altogether in favour of a source it can verify.

sameAs closes that gap. It gives AI systems and search engines a confirmed, machine-readable link between your brand and its established public record — increasing the likelihood you're recognised, trusted, and cited accurately.

Where to put it

Add your primary Organization sameAs block once — on your homepage or an about page. Other pages don't need to repeat it; they can reference the same entity via a shared @id. Specific sub-entities with their own public record (a named landmark, a signature event) can carry their own sameAs separately.

In short: sameAs is how you tell the machines "yes, this is really us" — and it's one of the highest-leverage, lowest-effort fixes for AI visibility available today.