Structured Data & Schema

48% of UK SME Websites Have No Structured Social Profile Links: The sameAs Gap

48%

12 out of 25 UK SME websites (48%) had no sameAs links in their structured data. Even sites with visible social media icons often had not included them in schema markup.

UK AI visibility research

Last updated: March 2026

We checked 30 UK small business websites for sameAs links in their structured data — the markup that connects a business entity to its verified social media profiles. Nearly half had none.


TL;DR

  • 12 out of 25 accessible UK SME websites (48%) had no sameAs links in their structured data
  • sameAs links connect a business to its social profiles in a machine-readable way
  • Even among sites with visible social links, many had not included them in structured data
  • Law firms, dentists, estate agents and restaurants had the weakest adoption

What are sameAs links?

sameAs is a Schema.org property that tells machines: “This entity is the same as the entity found at these other URLs.” It connects a business to its LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and other profiles.


What we found

MeasureCountPercentage
Has sameAs links in schema13 / 2552%
No sameAs links12 / 2548%
Has Organisation schema + sameAs10 / 2540%

By industry

IndustrySitesHas sameAsPercentage
Accountancy9667%
Personal Trainer3267%
Marketing Agency4250%
Plumber3133%
Dentist200%
Legal300%

How to check and add sameAs links

  • Check your page source for “sameAs” within a JSON-LD block
  • In WordPress with Yoast, go to SEO → Social and enter your URLs
  • Verify the URLs are correc

Source: Rank4AI Research (2026-03-12)

AP

Adam Parker

AI Search Visibility Specialist

Adam is the founder of Rank4AI, specialising in AI search visibility. He helps businesses get found across ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, and AI Overviews through technical optimisation and strategic content.

Last reviewed: 7 April 2026

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