Whether you’re an entrepreneur, author, speaker, or professional, Person schema helps establish your personal brand in Google search. It can contribute to earning a Knowledge Graph panel and helps Google understand who you are.

This guide shows you how to implement Person schema for personal brand visibility.

What is Person Schema?

Person schema is structured data that describes an individual. It tells search engines about:

  • Your name and identity
  • Professional role and occupation
  • Social media profiles
  • Biographical information
  • Achievements and awards
  • Association with organizations

This information helps Google understand you as an entity and can contribute to your personal Knowledge Graph.

Where Person Schema Helps

Knowledge Graph Panel

The information panel that appears for notable individuals when searching their name.

Authorship Connection

Links your content to your identity as an author.

Professional Credibility

Establishes your credentials for E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness).

Social Profile Integration

Connects your website to your social presence.

Required Properties

At minimum, include:

  • @type - Person
  • name - Your full name

For comprehensive person markup:

  • image - Your photo
  • jobTitle - Current role
  • worksFor - Current employer
  • url - Personal website
  • sameAs - Social profiles
  • description - Bio summary
  • alumniOf - Education
  • knowsAbout - Areas of expertise
  • award - Notable achievements

Complete Person Schema Example

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Person",
  "name": "Sarah Johnson",
  "alternateName": "Dr. Sarah Johnson",
  "givenName": "Sarah",
  "familyName": "Johnson",
  "image": "https://sarahjohnson.com/photos/sarah-johnson.jpg",
  "url": "https://sarahjohnson.com",
  "description": "Dr. Sarah Johnson is a data scientist and AI researcher with 15 years of experience. She is the author of 'Machine Learning for Everyone' and speaks at technology conferences worldwide.",
  "jobTitle": "Chief Data Scientist",
  "worksFor": {
    "@type": "Organization",
    "name": "Tech Innovations Inc",
    "url": "https://techinnovations.com"
  },
  "alumniOf": [
    {
      "@type": "CollegeOrUniversity",
      "name": "Stanford University"
    },
    {
      "@type": "CollegeOrUniversity",
      "name": "MIT"
    }
  ],
  "knowsAbout": [
    "Machine Learning",
    "Artificial Intelligence",
    "Data Science",
    "Python Programming",
    "Neural Networks"
  ],
  "award": [
    "Women in Tech Award 2023",
    "Best AI Research Paper 2022"
  ],
  "sameAs": [
    "https://twitter.com/sarahjohnson",
    "https://linkedin.com/in/sarahjohnson",
    "https://github.com/sarahjohnson",
    "https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=xxxxx"
  ],
  "email": "[email protected]"
}

For Authors and Writers

Include your works:

{
  "@type": "Person",
  "name": "John Author",
  "author": [
    {
      "@type": "Book",
      "name": "The Complete Guide to Writing",
      "isbn": "978-0-123456-78-9"
    },
    {
      "@type": "Book",
      "name": "Writing for the Web",
      "isbn": "978-0-987654-32-1"
    }
  ]
}

For Speakers and Presenters

Highlight speaking credentials:

{
  "@type": "Person",
  "name": "Jane Speaker",
  "jobTitle": "Keynote Speaker",
  "description": "International keynote speaker on leadership and innovation. Has spoken at TEDx, SXSW, and Fortune 500 companies.",
  "performerIn": [
    {
      "@type": "Event",
      "name": "TEDx Conference 2024"
    },
    {
      "@type": "Event",
      "name": "SXSW 2024"
    }
  ]
}

For Professionals

Emphasize credentials:

{
  "@type": "Person",
  "name": "Dr. Medical Expert",
  "honorificPrefix": "Dr.",
  "honorificSuffix": "MD, PhD",
  "jobTitle": "Chief of Surgery",
  "worksFor": {
    "@type": "Hospital",
    "name": "City General Hospital"
  },
  "hasCredential": {
    "@type": "EducationalOccupationalCredential",
    "name": "Board Certified Surgeon"
  }
}

Social Profile Linking

Include all professional profiles:

"sameAs": [
  "https://twitter.com/yourhandle",
  "https://linkedin.com/in/yourprofile",
  "https://github.com/yourusername",
  "https://www.youtube.com/@yourchannel",
  "https://www.instagram.com/yourhandle",
  "https://medium.com/@yourhandle",
  "https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=xxxxx",
  "https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Your-Name",
  "https://orcid.org/0000-0000-0000-0000"
]

Education History

"alumniOf": [
  {
    "@type": "CollegeOrUniversity",
    "name": "Harvard Business School",
    "url": "https://www.hbs.edu"
  },
  {
    "@type": "CollegeOrUniversity",
    "name": "University of California, Berkeley"
  }
]

Work Experience

Current and past roles:

"worksFor": {
  "@type": "Organization",
  "name": "Current Company"
},
"memberOf": [
  {
    "@type": "Organization",
    "name": "Professional Association"
  }
]

Areas of Expertise

"knowsAbout": [
  "Digital Marketing",
  "SEO",
  "Content Strategy",
  "Social Media Marketing",
  "Analytics"
]

Nationality and Location

{
  "@type": "Person",
  "name": "John Global",
  "nationality": {
    "@type": "Country",
    "name": "United States"
  },
  "homeLocation": {
    "@type": "City",
    "name": "San Francisco, CA"
  }
}

Author Attribution in Articles

Connect your Person schema to your articles:

{
  "@type": "Article",
  "headline": "Article Title",
  "author": {
    "@type": "Person",
    "@id": "https://yoursite.com/#person",
    "name": "Your Name"
  }
}

Then on your about page:

{
  "@type": "Person",
  "@id": "https://yoursite.com/#person",
  "name": "Your Name",
  ...
}

The matching @id connects them.

Where to Place Person Schema

About Page

Primary location for comprehensive Person schema.

Author Pages

On blog author archive pages.

Homepage (if personal site)

For personal brand websites.

Article Bylines

Connected to author information on articles.

Building a Knowledge Graph Panel

While schema alone doesn’t guarantee a Knowledge Graph panel, it contributes alongside:

  1. Wikipedia page (most important factor)
  2. Wikidata entry
  3. Consistent social profiles
  4. Press coverage and citations
  5. Published works
  6. Speaking engagements
  7. Professional credentials

Common Mistakes

1. Inconsistent Name

Use the same name format everywhere.

2. Missing Photo

Include a professional headshot.

Ensure all sameAs URLs are valid.

4. Outdated Information

Keep job titles and affiliations current.

5. Over-claiming Credentials

Only include verifiable achievements.

Generate Your Person Schema

Use our free Person Schema Generator to create valid markup for your personal brand.

Enter your:

  • Full name and title
  • Current role and employer
  • Social media profiles
  • Education and credentials
  • Areas of expertise

Get properly formatted JSON-LD ready to add to your website.

Measuring Personal Brand Impact

Track these metrics:

Search Console

  • Branded name searches
  • Knowledge Graph appearances
  • Click-through rates

Google Alerts

  • Mentions of your name
  • New content about you
  • Citations and references

Social Analytics

  • Profile traffic from search
  • Follower growth
  • Engagement trends

Conclusion

Person schema is essential for professionals building their personal brand online. While it won’t immediately create a Knowledge Graph panel, it’s an important signal that helps Google understand your identity and credentials.

Implement Person schema on your personal website or author page with complete, accurate information. Combine it with consistent social profiles, quality content, and professional activities to build long-term personal brand authority.

Need help building your personal brand online? I can help you implement Person schema and develop a personal branding strategy. Get in touch for a consultation.