I1 — Organization Identity Declaration

What it measures

Whether your organization is declared in machine-readable form via JSON-LD Organization schema, with verified identity links.

Without it, an AI agent has to infer who you are from third-party mentions — Google Business listings, Yelp, review platforms, news coverage. Other voices speak for you. With it, you author your own first-party identity claim — the record machines reach for before falling back on third-party sources.

Why it matters

For reach

Whether you're a community organization or a business, search engines and AI tools surface you more reliably when your identity is declared — not reconstructed from third-party listings.

For access

When someone — or an AI assistant helping them — tries to understand your org, they find your own explanation first, not an aggregator's.

For trust

Verified identity links signal provenance that aggregators can't. Especially important where predatory lookalikes operate — notario fraud, unlicensed practitioners, brand impersonation.

Public-interest stakes: High. Community organizations without Organization schema get described by aggregators and review platforms rather than by themselves. When the people you serve are in crisis, the difference between your own account and a third-party summary is not a minor one.

The stakes

5 Organization/LocalBusiness/NGO with name, url, logo, description, and sameAs to multiple verified profiles

4 Organization with name, url, and sameAs to at least one verified profile

3 Organization present but minimal — name and url only

2 Generic Organization without sameAs or logo

1 No Organization schema

How to implement

Step 1: Choose your organization type

Pick the type that best describes you:

LocalBusiness Location-based orgs — a clinic, shelter, food pantry, ward office

NGO Nonprofits and social good organizations

GovernmentOrganization Public agencies, alderman offices, civic bodies

Organization Generic catch-all if none of the above fit

Step 2: Gather your properties

Collect these details before you write any code:

Name — exactly as you want it to appear
URL — your main website
Logo — URL to a logo image (square, at least 112×112px)
Description — one sentence about what you do
Address — if you have a physical location
Phone / email — how to reach you
SameAs links — verified profiles (see Step 3)

Step 3: Find your sameAs links

SameAs links verify your identity to machines. Use official, hard-to-fake sources:

Your LinkedIn company page
Your Wikipedia entry (if you have one)
Government / state business registration record
CharityNavigator, GuideStar, or Candid listing
Official social media (Bluesky, Twitter/X, Instagram)

Always use full URLs, not handles. https://linkedin.com/company/xyz — not @xyz.

Step 4: Add JSON-LD to your site

Add this code to the <head> of your homepage.

Minimal version — Score 3 baseline Click to expand

Name, URL, and description only. Gets you into the room, but leaves identity incomplete.

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org/",
  "@type": "LocalBusiness",
  "name": "Community Food Bank",
  "url": "https://communityfoodbank.org",
  "description": "Free food assistance for families in need"
}
</script>

Full version — Score 5 target Click to expand

All recommended properties. Logo, address, verified sameAs links, available languages.

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org/",
  "@type": "LocalBusiness",
  "name": "Community Food Bank",
  "url": "https://communityfoodbank.org",
  "logo": "https://communityfoodbank.org/logo.png",
  "description": "Free food assistance for families in need",
  "address": {
    "@type": "PostalAddress",
    "streetAddress": "123 Main Street",
    "addressLocality": "Springfield",
    "addressRegion": "IL",
    "postalCode": "62701",
    "addressCountry": "US"
  },
  "telephone": "+1-217-555-0100",
  "email": "help@communityfoodbank.org",
  "sameAs": [
    "https://linkedin.com/company/community-food-bank",
    "https://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.organizations&orgid=12345",
    "https://bsky.app/profile/communityfoodbank.bsky.social"
  ],
  "availableLanguage": ["en", "es"],
  "areaServed": "Springfield, IL"
}
</script>

Step 5: Verify it worked

Go to Google's Rich Results Test
Paste your website URL and run the test
Look for the Organization schema — it should show your name, URL, and other properties
Fix any errors (usually missing required properties)

Real example

Consider a ward alderman's office trying to let constituents know how to get in contact. Without Organization schema, here's what happens:

❌ Before — No Organization schema

What an AI agent returns when someone asks "how do I contact my alderman?"

[searching "contact alderman ward 35"]
Results: Yelp page, old news article,
Facebook post from 2022.

Agent output: "I found a Facebook page
and a Yelp listing, but couldn't confirm
current contact info for Ward 35."

✓ After — Full Organization schema

What the same agent returns after schema is added

[searching "contact alderman ward 35"]
Found: ward35.org — GovernmentOrganization
Name: Alderman Carlos Ramirez, Ward 35
Phone: 312-555-0135
Address: 2657 W. 35th St, Chicago, IL
Hours: Mon–Fri 9am–5pm
sameAs: linkedin.com/in/carlosramirez35

Agent output: "You can contact Alderman
Ramirez directly at 312-555-0135 or
visit the office at 2657 W. 35th St."

Why this scored 4, not 5

In this example the after version would score a 4, not a full 5. Here's what's missing:

No logo image URL declared
Only one sameAs link — a score-5 requires 2–3 verified profiles
No availableLanguage declared, even if the office serves Spanish speakers

FAQ

We don't have a logo. Does that hurt us?

It lowers your score from 5 to 4, but not below. Logo is ideal but not required. If you create one — even simple — add it.

What counts as a 'verified' sameAs link?

Official, third-party sources that are hard to fake: LinkedIn company pages, Wikipedia, government or state business registration records, established directories (CharityNavigator and GuideStar for nonprofits; Yelp Business or the Better Business Bureau for commercial orgs). Your own social media counts. Random review sites don't.

Can we use social handles instead of full URLs?

No. Use full URLs — https://linkedin.com/company/xyz, not @xyz. AI agents need the complete address to verify your identity.

What if we're a brand new organization?

Start with the minimal version. As you grow and get listed in directories, add sameAs links. Score 3 is fine now — you can reach 5 later.

Should this go on every page, or just the homepage?

Just the homepage (or main landing page). One Organization declaration per site is enough.