Entity SEO - How to Get Your Business Recognised as an Entity by Google

Published on Hobo Web April 3, 2026 by Shaun Anderson

Over the last 20 years, I’ve watched Google shift from merely matching keywords to truly understanding who and what is behind the content.

This evolution - often summed up by Google’s move to “things, not strings”- means that optimising for entities is now essential, especially for small businesses. 

Why Entity SEO Matters (Especially for Small Businesses)

Google spokespersons have repeatedly emphasised the importance of expertise, authority, and trust (E-E-A-T).

But those signals can only fully apply when Google understands who is providing the content.

As Jason Barnard explains: “If Google understands who you are, then it can apply [E-E-A-T] signals fully. If it has to guess who you are, then it can only apply them in a dampened manner… So being in Google’s Knowledge Graph - meaning Google has fully understood who you are - is crucial. Entity understanding and your identity in Google’s mind is the single most important thing in SEO”.

In other words, your great content and links won’t count for nearly as much if Google can’t tie them to a credible entity.

Designate an “Entity Home” on Your Website and Use Schema Markup

Your own website should clearly represent your business as an entity. Think of your site (especially your homepage or an about page) as the Entity Home - the definitive source about who you are.

Jason Barnard advises creating a dedicated page (often the About Us page) that explicitly describes your organisation or yourself, and then corroborating that across the web - see thebrandserpguy.com.

Highlight Authors and Build E-E-A-T Signals Around Your Entity

Google’s focus on entities isn’t just about companies or products - it also extends to people (like the authors who write your content or the professionals at your business).

For a small business, this means you should feature real, credentialed people and link their identities to your brand.

Make sure articles and blog posts on your site have author names (and ideally brief bios) attached.

If Jane Doe writes an article, have an author page for Jane that describes her credentials (and mark it up with Person schema).

Google has what’s called an “author entity” for prominent writers and a “publisher entity” for websites jasonbarnard.com.

You want to feed the right information to those. The more Google can identify “Oh, this article on example.com was written by Dr. Jane Doe, who is also listed as a medical expert on HealthSite.org,” the more it can trust the content.

As a small business, you might not have famous authors, but you can still establish your team’s expertise.

Link to their LinkedIn profiles, mention awards or certifications - anything that would exist in the Knowledge Graph or at least signal REAL credibility.

Likewise, be transparent about your business on your site.

Have a robust About page (as discussed) and show trust factors: physical address, photos of your team or premises, membership in professional associations, etc.

All these contribute to your entity’s trustworthiness.

Google’s own quality rater guidelines (used internally to train algorithms) place huge importance on E-E-A-T for content creators and websites.

By demonstrating Experience, Expertise, Authority, and Trust, you are essentially saying, “We are a legitimate, experienced entity in our field.”

Remember, as Jason states, “Google is a child that wants to learn, and we need to educate it” about who we are.

So don’t be shy - spell it out. If you’re a licensed contractor with 10 years in business, say so.

If your CEO has a PhD in the topic you’re covering, make that known.

Think of every detail as another reference point for Google’s entity understanding.