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To describe the same person on multiple domains, choose one persistent absolute IRI for that person and reuse it as the Person node’s @id everywhere. Use sameAs separately for authoritative pages that identify the person, such as an ORCID record when relevant. The shared @id supports consistent linked data; it does not guarantee a search ranking, Knowledge Panel, or entity merge.
What do @id and sameAs do?
In JSON-LD, @id identifies a node in a data graph. The W3C JSON-LD 1.1 Recommendation says it is used to “uniquely identify things that are being described in the document with IRIs or blank node identifiers.” A context maps compact terms such as Person and name to vocabulary IRIs; it does not make a page URL and a person’s identity interchangeable.
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Schema.org defines Person as a person and identifies it as equivalent to foaf:Person. Its definition of sameAs is a “URL of a reference Web page that unambiguously indicates the item’s identity.” In practice, the @id is the identifier you use for the Person node in your graph; sameAs points from that node to identity-bearing reference pages.
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For sites your organization controls, use a stable absolute IRI on a domain you expect to retain, for example https://identity.example/people/jane-doe#person. Ideally, make that URL resolve to a useful profile or identity page. A fragment identifier is permitted, but this example is a design choice, not a required Schema.org format.
#1 Best Overall
| Option | What it identifies | Best fit and trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| Publisher-controlled profile IRI | Your Person node across properties | Good default for a publisher managing multiple domains, provided the publisher can keep the IRI stable and the identity page useful. |
| ORCID record | A researcher’s identity in the ORCID system | Useful for researchers when the record genuinely belongs to the person. It can be included in sameAs; it need not replace the publisher’s chosen @id. |
| Other official identity page | The person on a reference service or profile | Use as sameAs only if the page unambiguously refers to that person. An ordinary homepage or social profile should not be treated as authoritative by default. |
Before settling on an IRI, check its persistence, whether you control its domain and can maintain it through a redesign, whether it identifies a person rather than a page or role, and whether the external references truly identify that same person. JSON-LD notes that dereferencing an IRI may let applications retrieve more information; a useful, visitable identity page is beneficial, though not a universal requirement.
How do I reuse the same @id across domains?
Use the identical absolute IRI in the Person node on every controlled domain that describes that person. This illustrative JSON-LD uses placeholder values, not a real person or real accounts:
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{
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Person",
"@id": "https://identity.example/people/jane-doe#person",
"name": "Jane Doe",
"url": "https://www.example.com/about/jane-doe",
"sameAs": [
"https://orcid.org/0000-0000-0000-0000",
"https://www.linkedin.com/in/jane-doe/"
]
}Another site can publish the same Person node with that @id, even if its own page URL differs. Depending on the page and markup design, it may instead reference the Person node by the shared identifier. In either case, the markup must accurately describe the content visible on that page: an identifier does not substantiate a name, affiliation, credential, or relationship.
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A relative identifier is resolved against a base IRI. Consequently, #person on https://site-a.example/author resolves differently from #person on https://site-b.example/author. Repeating the same fragment text is not the same as repeating one absolute IRI. Specify the full chosen IRI when the goal is a portable identifier.
You can technically use a homepage or social-profile URL as an IRI, but decide deliberately what it identifies and whether you can preserve its meaning and control over time. A page address can change or point to content whose purpose is not to identify the person as a graph node.
Should my author schema use ORCID?
Use an ORCID record in sameAs when the person is a researcher and the record is theirs. Google Search Central specifically recommends ORCID as the sameAs value for uniquely identifying individual creators in its dataset structured-data guidance. That is guidance for dataset creators; it does not mean every author page needs ORCID or that ORCID should be used for someone who does not have the relevant identity.
Keep the roles distinct: the publisher-controlled absolute IRI can remain the shared Person @id, while a correct ORCID record is an external identity reference. Apply the same care to any other profile: include it only when it unambiguously refers to the person.
How do I keep the identifier consistent during a site migration?
- Choose the canonical IRI. Record one absolute Person identifier for each person and document who maintains its domain and profile.
- Preserve the identity URL where possible. Keep the URL working through CMS, domain, and site redesigns. If a move is unavoidable, preserve a redirect and update the Person markup consistently across properties.
- Audit each domain’s markup. Confirm the exact same
@idappears wherever that same person is described. Look for accidental local fragments, old identifiers, and conflicting names or URLs. - Check every reference. Confirm that each
sameAsdestination is live, belongs to the person, and is appropriate to identify them. Remove stale or ambiguous links. - Verify page-level truth. Ensure each page’s visible content supports the Person information and relationships in its structured data; do not copy claims that are not true for that page.
What does a shared Person @id not guarantee?
It gives your JSON-LD a consistent identifier for the node you describe, which can make data more interoperable. Structured data remains a declaration by the publisher, not proof that the identity or relationships are true. The cited Google guidance offers a specific ORCID recommendation for dataset creators; it does not promise that shared IDs will merge search entities, produce a Knowledge Panel, or improve rankings.
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