JSON-LD for SaaS: How to Build Your Entity Home in the Knowledge Graph

The Definition

JSON-LD is a method of encoding Linked Data using JSON format. In practical terms, it's structured data you add to your HTML that explicitly tells search engines and AI systems what your content represents.

How It Looks

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "
https://schema.org
",
  "@type": "Organization",
  "name": "YourSaaS",
  "description": "Project management software for remote teams",
  "url": "
https://yoursaas.com
"
}
</script>

JSON-LD vs Other Formats

Google explicitly recommends JSON-LD because:

• Doesn't mix with HTML content
• Easy to generate dynamically
• Simple to test and debug
• Cleanly separated from presentation

The Visibility Imperative

Without JSON-LD:
AI sees: "YourSaaS is a project management tool..."
AI thinks: Probably a software product? Unclear.

With JSON-LD:
AI sees: 
- Organization: YourSaaS
- Type: SoftwareApplication
- Category: Project Management
- Price: $29-99/month
- Features: [explicit list]

AI knows: This is a verified software product with clear attributes.

The Entity Authority Benefit

JSON-LD establishes your entity in the Knowledge Graph:

┌────────────────────────────────────────┐
│         Your Website                   │
│    (Entity Home with JSON-LD)          │
└──────────────────┬─────────────────────┘
                   │
                   ▼
┌────────────────────────────────────────┐
│         Knowledge Graph                 │
│   - Your entity is registered          │
│   - Attributes are defined             │
│   - Relationships established          │
└──────────────────┬─────────────────────┘
                   │
       ┌───────────┼───────────┐
       │           │           │
       ▼           ▼           ▼
  ┌───────┐   ┌───────┐   ┌───────┐
  │Google │   │ChatGPT│   │Perplex│
  │  AI   │   │       │   │ ity   │
  └───────┘   └───────┘   └───────┘

SaaS-Specific Benefits

What is the Knowledge Graph?

Google's Knowledge Graph is a database of entities and their relationships. When your company has a strong Knowledge Graph presence:

• Knowledge Panel may appear
• AI has verified entity data
• Your information is "known" not just "indexed"

Building Your Entity

Step 1: Establish identity with JSON-LD

{
  "@type": "Organization",
  "@id": "
https://yoursaas.com/#organization
",
  "name": "YourSaaS"
}

Step 2: Connect to known entities

"sameAs": [
  "
https://www.linkedin.com/company/yoursaas
",
  "
https://twitter.com/yoursaas
",
  "
https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/yoursaas
",
  "
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q12345678
"
]

Step 3: Define relationships

"founder": {
  "@type": "Person",
  "name": "Jane Smith",
  "sameAs": "
https://linkedin.com/in/janesmith
"
},
"parentOrganization": {
  "@type": "Organization",
  "name": "Parent Company"
}

The SaaS Schema Stack

Site Level:
└─ Organization (who you are)
└─ WebSite (site metadata)

Page Level:
├─ WebPage (every page)
├─ SoftwareApplication (product pages)
├─ FAQPage (pricing, features)
├─ Article (blog posts)
├─ HowTo (tutorials)
└─ Person (team pages)

Priority Implementation Order

Complete Organization Schema

{
  "@context": "
https://schema.org
",
  "@type": "Organization",
  "@id": "
https://yoursaas.com/#organization
",
  "name": "YourSaaS",
  "alternateName": "YourSaaS Inc.",
  "url": "
https://yoursaas.com
",
  "logo": {
    "@type": "ImageObject",
    "url": "
https://yoursaas.com/logo.png
",
    "width": 600,
    "height": 60
  },
  "description": "Project management software for remote teams that helps companies ship products faster.",
  "slogan": "Ship faster, together.",
  "foundingDate": "2021-01-15",
  "numberOfEmployees": {
    "@type": "QuantitativeValue",
    "value": 50
  },
  "founder": {
    "@type": "Person",
    "name": "Jane Smith",
    "jobTitle": "CEO",
    "sameAs": "
https://linkedin.com/in/janesmith
"
  },
  "address": {
    "@type": "PostalAddress",
    "streetAddress": "123 Tech Street",
    "addressLocality": "San Francisco",
    "addressRegion": "CA",
    "postalCode": "94105",
    "addressCountry": "US"
  },
  "contactPoint": [
    {
      "@type": "ContactPoint",
      "contactType": "customer service",
      "email": "
support@yoursaas.com
",
      "availableLanguage": "English"
    },
    {
      "@type": "ContactPoint",
      "contactType": "sales",
      "email": "
sales@yoursaas.com
"
    }
  ],
  "sameAs": [
    "
https://twitter.com/yoursaas
",
    "
https://linkedin.com/company/yoursaas
",
    "
https://github.com/yoursaas
",
    "
https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/yoursaas
"
  ],
  "knowsAbout": [
    "Project Management",
    "Remote Work",
    "Team Collaboration",
    "Productivity Software"
  ]
}

Key Properties Explained

Complete SoftwareApplication Schema

{
  "@context": "
https://schema.org
",
  "@type": "SoftwareApplication",
  "@id": "
https://yoursaas.com/product/#software
",
  "name": "YourSaaS",
  "applicationCategory": "BusinessApplication",
  "applicationSubCategory": "Project Management Software",
  "operatingSystem": "Web browser, iOS, Android",
  "description": "Complete project management solution for remote teams.",
  "screenshot": [
    "
https://yoursaas.com/screenshots/dashboard.png
",
    "
https://yoursaas.com/screenshots/tasks.png
"
  ],
  "featureList": [
    "Task Management",
    "Team Collaboration",
    "Time Tracking",
    "Reporting & Analytics",
    "Integrations (Slack, Google, Microsoft)"
  ],
  "softwareVersion": "3.0",
  "datePublished": "2021-01-15",
  "offers": {
    "@type": "AggregateOffer",
    "lowPrice": "0",
    "highPrice": "99",
    "priceCurrency": "USD",
    "offerCount": 3,
    "offers": [
      {
        "@type": "Offer",
        "name": "Free",
        "price": "0",
        "priceCurrency": "USD"
      },
      {
        "@type": "Offer",
        "name": "Pro",
        "price": "29",
        "priceCurrency": "USD",
        "priceSpecification": {
          "@type": "UnitPriceSpecification",
          "price": "29",
          "priceCurrency": "USD",
          "billingDuration": "P1M"
        }
      },
      {
        "@type": "Offer",
        "name": "Enterprise",
        "price": "99",
        "priceCurrency": "USD"
      }
    ]
  },
  "aggregateRating": {
    "@type": "AggregateRating",
    "ratingValue": "4.8",
    "ratingCount": "523",
    "bestRating": "5",
    "worstRating": "1"
  },
  "author": {
    "@id": "
https://yoursaas.com/#organization
"
  },
  "provider": {
    "@id": "
https://yoursaas.com/#organization
"
  }
}

For Feature/Plan Pages

{
  "@context": "
https://schema.org
",
  "@type": "Product",
  "name": "YourSaaS Pro Plan",
  "description": "Full-featured project management for growing teams",
  "brand": {
    "@id": "
https://yoursaas.com/#organization
"
  },
  "offers": {
    "@type": "Offer",
    "price": "29",
    "priceCurrency": "USD",
    "priceValidUntil": "2026-12-31",
    "availability": "
https://schema.org/InStock
",
    "url": "
https://yoursaas.com/pricing
"
  },
  "aggregateRating": {
    "@type": "AggregateRating",
    "ratingValue": "4.8",
    "reviewCount": "523"
  }
}

FAQPage Schema (Pricing Page)

{
  "@context": "
https://schema.org
",
  "@type": "FAQPage",
  "mainEntity": [
    {
      "@type": "Question",
      "name": "How much does YourSaaS cost?",
      "acceptedAnswer": {
        "@type": "Answer",
        "text": "YourSaaS offers three pricing tiers: Free ($0), Pro ($29/month), and Enterprise ($99/month). All paid plans include a 14-day free trial."
      }
    },
    {
      "@type": "Question",
      "name": "Is there a free trial?",
      "acceptedAnswer": {
        "@type": "Answer",
        "text": "Yes, all paid plans include a 14-day free trial with full access to all features. No credit card required to start."
      }
    },
    {
      "@type": "Question",
      "name": "Can I cancel anytime?",
      "acceptedAnswer": {
        "@type": "Answer",
        "text": "Yes, you can cancel your subscription at any time. Your access continues until the end of your billing period."
      }
    }
  ]
}

HowTo Schema (Tutorials)

{
  "@context": "
https://schema.org
",
  "@type": "HowTo",
  "name": "How to Create Your First Project in YourSaaS",
  "description": "Step-by-step guide to setting up your first project",
  "totalTime": "PT5M",
  "step": [
    {
      "@type": "HowToStep",
      "name": "Sign up or log in",
      "text": "Visit 
yoursaas.com
 and create an account or log in to your existing account.",
      "url": "
https://yoursaas.com/docs/getting-started#step-1
"
    },
    {
      "@type": "HowToStep",
      "name": "Click Create Project",
      "text": "From your dashboard, click the 'Create Project' button in the top right corner."
    },
    {
      "@type": "HowToStep",
      "name": "Configure settings",
      "text": "Enter your project name, description, and select a template if desired."
    },
    {
      "@type": "HowToStep",
      "name": "Invite team members",
      "text": "Add team members by entering their email addresses."
    }
  ]
}

Step 1: Audit Current State

1. Go to Google Rich Results Test
2. Test your homepage, product page, pricing page
3. Note what's missing

Step 2: Implement Foundation (Homepage)

Add Organization + WebSite schema to homepage:

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "
https://schema.org
",
  "@graph": [
    {
      "@type": "Organization",
      "@id": "
https://yoursaas.com/#organization
",
      ... // Full organization schema
    },
    {
      "@type": "WebSite",
      "@id": "
https://yoursaas.com/#website
",
      "url": "
https://yoursaas.com
",
      "name": "YourSaaS",
      "publisher": {
        "@id": "
https://yoursaas.com/#organization
"
      }
    }
  ]
}
</script>

Step 3: Add Product Schema

On product/features page:

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@type": "SoftwareApplication",
  ... // Full software schema
}
</script>

Step 4: Add FAQ Schema

On pricing and feature pages:

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@type": "FAQPage",
  ... // FAQ schema
}
</script>

Step 5: Test and Monitor

• Test all pages with Rich Results Test
• Check Search Console for errors
• Monitor rich result performance

Schema Documentation

• Schema.org
• Schema.org SoftwareApplication
• Schema.org Organization

Google Resources

• Google Structured Data Guide
• Rich Results Test
• Search Console

Implementation Guides

• JSON-LD Playground
• Schema Markup Validator