METHOD 1.1.0 · CHECK SET 2026-08-30.2

Entity & Schema Graph methodology

A transparent audit of structured identity and relationships. It evaluates what markup claims and how coherently it is connected; it does not certify the truth of those claims.

What an entity graph means here

JSON-LD objects become nodes. Properties that identify another object—such as publisher, author, provider, about, mainEntity, isPartOf and sameAs—become directed edges. A stable @id lets separate pages refer to one entity without redefining it.

The report treats schema as a machine-readable claim layer. More nodes and properties do not automatically improve the score.

Audit process

  1. Fetch safely. Accept only public HTTP/HTTPS pages, cap redirects, response size and request time.
  2. Sample breadth-first. Inspect one, three or five same-origin pages discovered through ordinary HTML links.
  3. Parse JSON-LD. Read application/ld+json scripts, flatten @graph arrays and record invalid blocks.
  4. Resolve identity. Normalise URL references, preserve stable IDs and create disclosed generated IDs for anonymous objects.
  5. Build relationships. Turn object references into local or external edges.
  6. Compare and score. Detect conflicts, isolated entities, missing stable IDs and visible-name gaps.

Scoring

The score starts at 100. Critical findings deduct 12 points, warnings 5 and opportunities 2, divided by the square root of sampled pages so a larger sample does not inflate penalties linearly. Dimension scores group the same findings into identity integrity, connectivity, schema foundation and visible alignment.

Labels are descriptive, not search-engine benchmarks: 85–100 Coherent entity graph; 65–84 Connected, with gaps; 45–64 Identity ambiguity detected; below 45 Graph needs reconstruction.

Check definitions

JSON-LD presence

Deterministic

Reports when no JSON-LD block exists. A page can still be understandable without schema, but it cannot contribute a JSON-LD entity graph.

JSON-LD validity

Deterministic

Requires a block to parse as JSON. This does not validate every Schema.org range or search-feature requirement.

Stable @id

Graph heuristic

Flags anonymous objects because another page cannot reliably reference them as the same entity. URL-based IDs should be stable, unique and reused deliberately.

Disconnected entity

Graph measurement

Flags a local node with no incoming or outgoing relationship when multiple nodes exist. Independence can be intentional, so the recommended relationship must be truthful.

Identity conflict

Deterministic across sample

Flags a reused stable ID with inconsistent names or type sets. It does not flag every property difference because page-specific enrichment is legitimate.

Primary entity

Heuristic

Prefers an Organisation or LocalBusiness with a conventional organisation ID, then another organisation, then the first node. An absent or isolated primary entity weakens the graph’s identity spine.

External identity bridge

Opportunity

Looks for sameAs edges. Only official profiles that represent the exact same entity should be used; unrelated directories and social links should not be added to pass a check.

Visible identity alignment

Text heuristic

Checks whether a declared entity name appears in visible HTML text. It does not prove or disprove the entity, and alternate spellings can create false gaps.

Sample fetch

Deterministic

Records pages that time out or cannot be read. A transient hosting failure should be retested.

Limits

  • Only raw response HTML is inspected; JSON-LD injected after JavaScript execution may be absent.
  • The breadth-first sample is capped at five pages and exact-origin links.
  • The audit does not validate legal identity, ownership, credentials or profile control.
  • It does not claim schema creates rankings, citations or knowledge-panel inclusion.
  • Microdata and RDFa are outside version 1.0.
  • Visible-name matching is strongest for exact English-language names.
  • Search engines can apply product-specific structured-data rules beyond Schema.org graph coherence.