In short. WebSite structured data identifies a website, while Google uses its homepage name and URL properties to consider a preferred site name.

Definition: WebSite structured data describes a website as a collection of related pages using the Schema.org vocabulary. Its name, alternateName and url properties identify the website through a name, an optional alias and a web address.

Key facts

As of October 2026, Google's site name documentation uses homepage WebSite markup to consider a preferred site name.
Schema.org's WebSite definition describes related pages and other items typically served from a single domain.
Google's structured data introduction describes markup embedded in the page to which the information applies.
Google's AI features guidance says AI Overviews and AI Mode require no special Schema.org markup.

What identity does WebSite describe?

Schema.org places WebSite under CreativeWork, its type for creative works. The website's inherited properties include name for its name, alternateName for an alias and url for its address.

Schema.org's WebPage definition describes an individual web page. Its isPartOf property expresses that an item belongs to another item or creative work. This provides a vocabulary relationship between a page and its containing website. A site's name and a page's name can therefore describe different items even when both appear in markup on the same page.

What does the homepage markup contain?

Google's site name guide requires name and url; url holds the canonical homepage address. The optional alternateName supplies an alternative. This example follows Google's example values:

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "WebSite",
  "name": "Example Company",
  "alternateName": "EC",
  "url": "https://example.com/"
}
</script>

The markup belongs on the domain or subdomain homepage. Existing WebSite markup should contain the site-name properties in the same node. Duplicate homepages should carry matching markup. The preferred name should agree with homepage text.

Google's structured data introduction describes JSON-LD as a JavaScript notation embedded in an HTML script element. It keeps structured information separate from visible text. Google recommends this format where the site's setup allows it; microdata and RDFa are also supported formats.

How is the implementation checked?

Google's testing instructions recommend Schema Markup Validator for syntax and URL Inspection for Google access. The Rich Results Test excludes site names. Homepage access must allow crawling without login restrictions.

For AI search, Google's AI features documentation requires a page to be indexed and eligible for a Search snippet to qualify as a supporting link in AI Overviews or AI Mode. Its guidance also calls for structured data to match visible text.

FAQ

Can I assign a separate site name to a subdirectory?

Google's technical guidelines support a name per domain or subdomain. Subdirectories have no separate site-name support.

How can I relate a page to the website?

Schema.org's WebPage reference includes isPartOf, which accepts a CreativeWork or URL. You can use this relationship to describe the containing website, whose WebSite type is a creative work.

Where can I add markup in a content management system?

Google's structured data introduction explains that your CMS may offer a search settings page or a plugin for specifying structured data when direct HTML editing is unavailable.

Sources

Check how a page reads to answer engines. Open the GEO score analyzer