XooCode(){

Thing

Thing is the single root of the schema.org type tree — every CreativeWork, Person, Organization, Place, Event, Product, Action, and Intangible inherits from Thing. Its 13 direct properties are the universal entity signals: every structured-data block on every page picks up most of them by inheritance.

Full example of schema.org/Thing json-ld markup

The markup is verified as valid with Rich Results Test from Google.

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schema.org/Thing
<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Thing",
  "@id": "https://xoocode.com/#brand",
  "name": "Xoo Code",
  "alternateName": ["XooCode", "Xoo"],
  "description": "The umbrella brand covering the XooStructured SaaS, XooTee merchandise, XooQuest games, and the Xoo Code developer platform.",
  "disambiguatingDescription": "Not the unrelated 'xoo' open-source project — Xoo Code is the Dunmore-based schema.org tooling company.",
  "url": "https://xoocode.com",
  "image": "https://xoocode.com/og.png",
  "sameAs": [
    "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xoo_Code",
    "https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q999999999",
    "https://github.com/xoocode",
    "https://www.linkedin.com/company/xoocode"
  ],
  "identifier": {
    "@type": "PropertyValue",
    "propertyID": "DUNS",
    "value": "00-000-0001"
  },
  "additionalType": "https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4830453",
  "mainEntityOfPage": "https://xoocode.com",
  "potentialAction": {
    "@type": "SearchAction",
    "target": {
      "@type": "EntryPoint",
      "urlTemplate": "https://xoocode.com/search?q={search_term_string}"
    },
    "query-input": "required name=search_term_string"
  }
}
</script>

Direct properties (13)

  • name and alternateName: the canonical label plus any aliases.
  • description and disambiguatingDescription: a full description plus a short disambiguator ("the 2019 film" vs "the 1981 film").
  • identifier: any kind of ID — ISBN, DOI, SKU, internal UUID — as Text, URL, or PropertyValue for richer coding.
  • url: the canonical URL of the entity.
  • image: URL or ImageObject.
  • sameAs: one or more reference URLs that unambiguously identify the entity (Wikipedia, Wikidata, official site, LinkedIn). The single most important property for AI-search citation.
  • additionalType: a secondary type from an external vocabulary for multi-typed entities.
  • mainEntityOfPage: the WebPage the entity is the main subject of.
  • subjectOf: CreativeWork or Event about this Thing (inverse of mainEntityOfPage / about).
  • potentialAction: an Action that could be performed on / with this Thing (SearchAction, ReadAction, BuyAction).
  • owner: Person or Organization — useful on products, vehicles, IP.

When to use Thing directly

Almost never — pick a subtype. Use Thing directly only when you have an entity that genuinely does not fit any specific type, and even then Intangible or CreativeWork is usually better. Thing's value is as the document of which properties every entity inherits.

Minimal valid version

The smallest markup that still produces a valid Thing entity. Use it as the floor. Reach for the advanced example above when you want search engines and AI agents to understand more about your content.

schema.org/Thing (minimal)
<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Thing",
  "name": "Xoo Code",
  "url": "https://xoocode.com",
  "sameAs": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xoo_Code"
}
</script>

Google rich results this unlocks

Markup matching this example makes your page eligible for the following Google Search rich results. The primary target drives the required / recommended property classification in the advanced code block above.

  • No direct rich result (Thing is the root; its properties feed every rich result via inheritance)
    Google docs

Common Thing mistakes

Mistakes that pass validation but silently fail to earn rich results or mislead consumers walking the graph. Avoid these and your markup will be ahead of most sites in the wild.

  1. 01

    Thing when a subtype fits

    Wrong
    Thing for a company or product
    Right
    Organization, Product, Person, etc.

    Consumers route on the specific type. Thing hides the entity from type-specific rich results and knowledge panels.

  2. 02

    sameAs omitted

    Wrong
    No sameAs on a recognisable entity
    Right
    sameAs to Wikipedia / Wikidata / official site

    sameAs is the single biggest signal AI search uses to disambiguate entities. Leaving it off surrenders the citation.

  3. 03

    identifier as an opaque string

    Wrong
    "identifier": "abc-123"
    Right
    PropertyValue with propertyID: "DUNS" (or ISBN / DOI / GTIN / SKU) + value

    PropertyValue carries the identifier's *type*, which is what consumers match on.

Schema properties in this example

ThingnamealternateNamedescriptiondisambiguatingDescriptionurlimagesameAsidentifierPropertyValuepropertyIDadditionalTypemainEntityOfPagepotentialActionSearchActiontargetEntryPointurlTemplatesubjectOfowner

Also mentioned in 4 other examples

Thing also appears in Game, Intangible, Quantity, and Quotation. See the full Thing schema page for every reference.

About the example data

A conceptual "Xoo Code" brand entity published as a direct Thing because it's not cleanly an Organization, CreativeWork, or Product — it's the overarching concept spanning all three.

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