Profile Page Schema Framework

Use conditional-logic schema generation to keep Profile Page markup aligned with real page state and avoid stale or invalid static templates.

When To Use It

Google Search CentralProfile Page documentation

Use on pages whose primary focus is a single person or organization affiliated with the site, on sites where creators share first-hand perspectives: forum and social media user profiles, author pages on news sites, "About Me" pages on blogs, and employee pages on company sites. Google uses this markup in features such as Discussions and Forums. A store homepage or a review site page about an unaffiliated organization does not qualify.

Key Implementation Documentation Highlights

  • Required on ProfilePage: mainEntity, the Person or Organization the page is about, with mainEntity.name.
  • Recommended on the page: dateCreated and dateModified (ISO 8601; dateModified reflects human-edited profile changes).
  • Recommended on mainEntity: alternateName, description (byline or credential), identifier (a stable internal ID), image, sameAs (other profiles or home pages), interactionStatistic, and agentInteractionStatistic.
  • Use the real name in name and the handle in alternateName; a handle in name is fine when it is the only identifier.
  • interactionStatistic counts what happens to the entity on this platform only: FollowAction (followers), LikeAction (likes), BefriendAction (two-way relationships). agentInteractionStatistic counts what the entity does: FollowAction (accounts followed), LikeAction (likes given), WriteAction (posts), ShareAction (reshares).
  • image must be a real profile image: no default, icon, or placeholder images. Images must be crawlable, indexable, and high resolution.
  • Use the Rich Results Test and URL Inspection to validate rendering, eligibility, and crawlability.

Rules the framework enforces before it emits a profile:

  • mainEntity is always typed Person or Organization and always has a name.
  • Each statistic maps to its own allowed action list, so WriteAction or ShareAction never lands in interactionStatistic and BefriendAction never lands in agentInteractionStatistic.
  • Image URLs that look like default avatars or placeholders are dropped rather than emitted.
  • A dateModified earlier than dateCreated is dropped.

Template Approach

const pageData = {
  name: "Priya Raman",
  handle: "priya_r",
  avatar: "https://forum.example.com/uploads/avatars/priya_r-400.jpg"
};

const staticTemplate = {
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "ProfilePage",
  "mainEntity": {
    "@type": "Person",
    "name": pageData.name,
    "alternateName": pageData.handle,
    "image": pageData.avatar
  }
};

Conditional-logic Framework

const ISO_DATE = /^(\d{4})-(\d{2})-(\d{2})$/;
const ISO_DATE_TIME = /^(\d{4})-(\d{2})-(\d{2})T([01]\d|2[0-3]):[0-5]\d(:[0-5]\d(\.\d+)?)?(Z|[+-]\d{2}:\d{2})$/;

function isAbsoluteUrl(value) {
  if (typeof value !== "string") return false;
  try {
    const url = new URL(value);
    return (url.protocol === "https:" || url.protocol === "http:") && Boolean(url.hostname);
  } catch {
    return false;
  }
}

function isRealDate(y, m, d) {
  const date = new Date(Date.UTC(Number(y), Number(m) - 1, Number(d)));
  return date.getUTCMonth() === Number(m) - 1 && date.getUTCDate() === Number(d);
}

// Calendar date (YYYY-MM-DD); a full date-time is cut to its date part.
function toIsoDate(value) {
  if (typeof value !== "string") return null;
  const v = value.trim();
  const m = v.match(ISO_DATE) || v.match(ISO_DATE_TIME);
  return m && isRealDate(m[1], m[2], m[3]) ? v.slice(0, 10) : null;
}

// Date-time with Z or an offset (kept as written), or a plain date.
// A date-time without a timezone is rejected instead of guessed.
function toIsoDateTime(value) {
  if (typeof value !== "string") return null;
  const v = value.trim();
  const m = v.match(ISO_DATE) || v.match(ISO_DATE_TIME);
  return m && isRealDate(m[1], m[2], m[3]) ? v : null;
}

// Drop null, undefined, "", [] and {} recursively.
function compact(value) {
  if (Array.isArray(value)) {
    const items = value.map(compact).filter((v) => v !== undefined);
    return items.length ? items : undefined;
  }
  if (value && typeof value === "object") {
    const out = {};
    for (const [key, v] of Object.entries(value)) {
      const c = compact(v);
      if (c !== undefined) out[key] = c;
    }
    return Object.keys(out).length ? out : undefined;
  }
  if (value === null || value === undefined || value === "") return undefined;
  return value;
}

// Page gates: indexable, self-canonical, and the marked-up content is visible.
function passesPageGates(source) {
  if (!source.isIndexable || !source.isContentVisible) return false;
  if (!isAbsoluteUrl(source.url)) return false;
  return !source.canonicalUrl || source.canonicalUrl === source.url;
}

// Stats about the profile entity itself, counted on this platform only.
const PROFILE_STATS = {
  followers: "https://schema.org/FollowAction",
  likes: "https://schema.org/LikeAction",
  friends: "https://schema.org/BefriendAction"
};
// Stats about what the entity does: following, liking, posting, resharing.
const AGENT_STATS = {
  following: "https://schema.org/FollowAction",
  likesGiven: "https://schema.org/LikeAction",
  posts: "https://schema.org/WriteAction",
  reshares: "https://schema.org/ShareAction"
};
const PLACEHOLDER_IMAGE = /default|placeholder|avatar-blank|blank-avatar|gravatar\.com\/avatar\/[^?]*\?.*d=/i;

function chooseProfileEntityType(source) {
  return source.isOrganization ? "Organization" : "Person";
}

function buildCounters(stats, allowed) {
  return Object.entries(stats || {})
    .filter(([key, count]) => allowed[key] && Number.isInteger(count) && count >= 0)
    .map(([key, count]) => ({ "@type": "InteractionCounter", "interactionType": allowed[key], "userInteractionCount": count }));
}

function buildProfilePageSchema(source) {
  if (!passesPageGates(source)) return null;
  // The page must be about one person or organization affiliated with the site.
  if (!source.isAffiliatedWithSite) return null;

  // Prefer the real name; a handle in name is fine when it is the only identifier.
  const name = (source.realName || source.handle || "").trim();
  if (!name) return null;
  const alternateName = source.realName && source.handle ? source.handle : null;

  const image = isAbsoluteUrl(source.imageUrl) && !PLACEHOLDER_IMAGE.test(source.imageUrl) ? source.imageUrl : null;

  const dateCreated = toIsoDateTime(source.dateCreated);
  let dateModified = toIsoDateTime(source.dateModified);
  if (dateCreated && dateModified && Date.parse(dateModified) < Date.parse(dateCreated)) dateModified = null;

  return compact({
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@type": "ProfilePage",
    "dateCreated": dateCreated,
    "dateModified": dateModified,
    "mainEntity": {
      "@type": chooseProfileEntityType(source),
      "name": name,
      "alternateName": alternateName,
      "identifier": source.internalId != null ? String(source.internalId) : null,
      "description": source.byline,
      "image": image,
      "sameAs": (source.externalProfiles || []).filter(isAbsoluteUrl),
      "interactionStatistic": buildCounters(source.profileStats, PROFILE_STATS),
      "agentInteractionStatistic": buildCounters(source.activityStats, AGENT_STATS)
    }
  }) || null;
}

// Usage
// const source = {
//   "isIndexable": true,
//   "isContentVisible": true,
//   "isAffiliatedWithSite": true,
//   "url": "https://forum.example.com/u/priya_r",
//   "canonicalUrl": "https://forum.example.com/u/priya_r",
//   "realName": "Priya Raman",
//   "handle": "priya_r",
//   "internalId": 48213,
//   "byline": "Technical SEO lead, writes about rendering and crawl budget.",
//   "imageUrl": "https://forum.example.com/uploads/avatars/priya_r-400.jpg",
//   "externalProfiles": [
//     "https://www.linkedin.com/in/example-priya",
//     "https://priya.example.net"
//   ],
//   "profileStats": {
//     "followers": 1820,
//     "likes": 5310
//   },
//   "activityStats": {
//     "following": 214,
//     "posts": 642
//   },
//   "dateCreated": "2024-03-11T09:12:00Z",
//   "dateModified": "2026-09-30T18:45:00Z"
// };
// const jsonLd = buildProfilePageSchema(source); // null means: emit nothing

The Output As An Entity Graph

The conditional-logic output above, parsed in your browser and drawn as the graph a crawler builds from it. Every nested object is a node and the property that holds it is the edge. Tap a node to inspect its properties, or drag to rearrange.

Why Conditional Logic Is Better Than Static Templates

  • Handles profiles with a real name, a handle only, or both, without separate templates.
  • Omits statistics, images, and external profiles the account does not have instead of emitting zeros or placeholders.
  • Keeps the two statistic lists on their own allowed action types, a mistake static templates make easily.
  • Keeps identifier stable through handle changes by sourcing it from the internal user ID.

Property Reference

What Google's Profile page documentation requires and recommends, property by property. These are the same rules the SchemaCDN validator checks. Each name links to its schema.org definition.

Profile page properties in Google's documentation
PropertyGoogleExpectsNotes
mainEntityRequiredPerson or OrganizationThe Person or Organization that this profile page is about.
mainEntity.nameRequiredTextThe primary way the person or organization is identified.
mainEntity.agentInteractionStatisticRecommendedInteractionCounter, can repeatUser statistics about the profile entity's own behavior, if applicable. One of: FollowAction, LikeAction, WriteAction, ShareAction.
mainEntity.alternateNameRecommendedTextAn alternate public identifier, for example a social media handle if the real name is used in name.
mainEntity.descriptionRecommendedTextThe user's byline or applicable credential, if applicable.
mainEntity.identifierRecommendedTextA unique identifier used within your site, if applicable.
mainEntity.imageRecommendedURL or ImageObjectThe URL or ImageObject of a profile image. Don't use default, icon, or placeholder images.
mainEntity.interactionStatisticRecommendedInteractionCounter, can repeatUser statistics applied to the profile entity on this platform, if applicable. One of: FollowAction, LikeAction, BefriendAction.
mainEntity.sameAsRecommendedURL, can repeatURLs of other external profiles or home pages for the profile, if applicable.
dateCreatedRecommendedDateTimeThe date and time the profile was created, if applicable, in ISO 8601 format.
dateModifiedRecommendedDateTimeThe date and time information in the profile was modified, if applicable, in ISO 8601 format.

Explore Other Schema Framework Pages

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SoftwareApplication Open Limited Speakable Use for news-style pages where specific text segments are appropriate for text-to-speech playback. SpeakableSpecification Open Subscription and Paywalled Content Use for pages with restricted sections so Google can distinguish free previews from protected content. CreativeWork Open Limited Vacation Rental Use for rental property detail pages where booking-relevant amenities and location signals are explicit. VacationRental Open Retired Vehicle Listing Use for inventory pages selling vehicles with standardized listing fields and offer information. Car Open Video Use for pages where a primary video is embedded and key media metadata is visible on-page. VideoObject Open Article Use for editorial pages where the visible content is a complete article with a clear byline and publication timestamps. Article Open Limited Book Actions Use when your page helps users read, preview, or purchase books through clearly described actions. Book Open Breadcrumb Use on pages that belong to a clear hierarchy and display navigational trail links users can follow. BreadcrumbList Open Carousel Use when a page lists multiple related entities in a scannable sequence that can be surfaced as cards. ItemList Open Course Use for educational offerings where curriculum details, provider identity, and delivery context are explicit. Course Open Dataset Use for dataset landing pages so datasets are discoverable in Google Dataset Search with license, creator and download details. Dataset Open Discussion Forum Use for forum and community threads where a primary post and subsequent replies are publicly visible. DiscussionForumPosting Open Limited Education Q&A Use for educational question-answer pages where a single canonical answer and supporting context are visible. Quiz Open Employer Aggregate Rating Use on pages that publish employer rating aggregates from a clear and policy-compliant review source. EmployerAggregateRating Open Retired Estimated Salary Use for compensation insight pages that present transparent salary ranges for specific occupations and locations. Occupation Open Event Use for upcoming events with a real-world or virtual occurrence, schedule, and location context. Event Open Retired Fact Check Use for fact-checking pages that evaluate a specific claim with a transparent rating methodology. ClaimReview Open Retired Home Activities Use for virtual classes and activities where participation details and timing are clearly listed. Event Open Retired How-To Use for instructional content that teaches a process through ordered steps and actionable detail. HowTo Open Image Metadata Use on image pages and image hosts that expose ownership and licensing information to search engines. ImageObject Open Job Posting Use for active job listings that include role details, hiring entity, and location/salary context. JobPosting Open Retired Learning Video Use for educational videos where the learning objective and pedagogical structure are explicit. LearningResource Open Local Business Use for physical businesses serving local customers with publicly verifiable contact and location details. LocalBusiness Open Loyalty Program Use to publish a loyalty program and its tiers once at the organization level, so member prices and member shipping can reference them. MemberProgram Open Math Solvers Use for pages that solve mathematical expressions and present step-by-step computational guidance. MathSolver Open Merchant Listing Use on pages where a product can be bought, with price, availability, shipping and return details. Product Open Limited Movie Use for movie detail pages with canonical film information and transparent metadata attribution. Movie Open Organization Use for official organization pages to clarify brand identity and authoritative entity signals. Organization Open Retired Practice Problems Use for educational practice content that presents solvable problems and answer validation structure. Quiz Open Product Snippet Use for product pages where pricing, availability, and product identity are visible to users. Product Open Product Variants Use when one product comes in variants such as size or color, grouped with ProductGroup. ProductGroup Open

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