Key takeaways for you
| – A knowledge graph is an inventory or database containing information on various topics and their connection. – Knowledge graphs can help Google to understand the user’s intent and accommodate voice searches, thereby, helping with SEO. – It is vital for a brand’s EAT score as a knowledge graph can improve their Brand’s SERP by increasing their visibility, authority, and user trust. – A knowledge graph is a brand’s or a person’s digital business card and can help improve conversions by making you credible in the eyes of a potential customer. – To get a knowledge graph, you need to educate Google about who you are and how it should represent you. – You can educate the search engine by optimizing your supporting properties like website, social media profiles, and your digital presence on various platforms. – Other knowledge graph strategies include getting a video box, image box, Twitter box, and Wikipedia page. |
How does Google google?
We are always looking up everything we want to know multiple times a day on Google that ‘to google’ has become a verb.
But have you stopped to wonder how Google knows the answer?
How did it get so intelligent and trustworthy that you depend on the information it provides, no questions asked?
Rome was not built in a day and neither was Google.
Google introduced Knowledge Graphs in 2012 which became an enhancement of organic search results. That marked the beginning of Google’s attempt to understand user intent and the relationship between entities.
What are entities?
What do knowledge graphs do?
How can you associate yourself with knowledge graphs?
You can understand this and more in this article.
A Knowledge graph in knowledge representation and reasoning refers to a knowledge base that uses a graph-structured data model to integrate data and is used across industries. A conceptual description would be like the image below.
However, for the purpose of this article, I am talking about the meaning of knowledge graphs in the SEO context.
What is knowledge graph in SEO?
A knowledge graph is an inventory or database containing information on various topics and their connection. It is Google’s way of understanding the interrelation between topics.
It is like Google’s own Wikipedia.
Google’s mission statement is to provide relevant and useful information to search queries. To achieve this goal, it always strives to interpret user intent.
Google stores all possible information on people, places, animals, things, companies, products, facts, and news. All these are called entities. By connecting entities based on their interrelation, Google manages to bring out the best possible answer to a search query.
The usual search results bring you a list of links per page. But the information from the knowledge graph surfaces in the search results in separate blocks.
These blocks are called Knowledge panels or Knowledge Cards and they occupy the prime location in the SERPs, i.e. the top, giving users major information without having to further click open any links.
For example, suppose I google Elon Musk, and this is what I find:
The block displaying Elon Musk’s biodata is a knowledge panel.
Knowledge graph cards are of different categories based on the most common search queries. Each category focuses on displaying the most common queries made in relation to that entity like
- The name and a short summary describing the topic.
- A slightly longer description in detail.
- Pictures of the topic
- Facts, dates, and numbers relating to the topic.
- Links to related websites and social media profiles
Here are some of the categories with examples.
Types of Knowledge Graph Cards
People/Individuals
Companies
Local Businesses
Food
Products
Places
Entertainment
This includes knowledge cards about books, movies, events and, TV shows, etc)
How does a knowledge graph help in SEO?
Knowledge graphs can influence search results and help SEO at the same time. If you get a knowledge panel it is like having an alternative home page, which becomes your digital business card.
It helps Google better understand user intent.
If you look at a link, you don’t really know if you are getting the answer to your query unless you open the page. Links show up usually from word matches with the query.
But every user has a different way of describing things and hence the way they put in the search queries. I googled for Elon Musk earlier and someone else would search with, maybe, “Tesla owner”, and someone else may want to know Elon Musk’s net worth. This is where the knowledge graph comes into play.
Voice searches can be accommodated better.
With the inclusion of Google Assistant in the metrics, voice queries are added to the search. Google now has to accommodate natural language processing.
If you think spoken language is the same as writing, try making Google read an Indian name.
It is important for your Google EAT score
(Expertise-Authority-Trust value in search) and it rubs off on non-branded SEO. It is how Google represents your digital ecosystem.
It is good for your Brand SERP or On SERP SEO.
Influencing or controlling how Google shows you in search is called Brand SERP or On-SERP SEO. When you get a knowledge panel of your own, then you get more real estate in the SERPs which naturally increases your visibility, authority, and users’ trust.
It helps improve conversions.
People who are searching for your brand name are a warm audience. They are the people who are on the verge of converting to your customers and they are looking you up to verify you through Google. What they see matters and it should be convincing.
Now that you understand that getting into the knowledge graph can be influential for SEO, your next step is to get yourself a Google knowledge panel.
How to get yourself a Google knowledge panel?
If you are a brand, then your approach to SEO should be to answer user queries and also educate Google as to who you are and how it should represent you. Google can only show what you feed it.
The former is educated by a lot of useful and informative content. But to educate Google you may have to follow certain best practices.
Build an entity home that contains resources of information about you.
The obvious options are your website, about page, Contact page, and clients. Update clear and consistent information on every mention of your brand. Think of the possible questions that your audience or customers might want to know about you and your brand. Answer those questions through your entity home. Use a people schema
Create and update supporting properties.
This includes your digital presence on other platforms like Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, and GMB. How valued your presence on all these platforms matters.
Get an Image Box.
It is the block that displays images related to your search in the SERP. Update high-definition images consciously on all your profiles. Work on Image SEO and convey information through Alt tags, file names, and captions. Use Image schema markup.
Get a video box.
Upload quality videos and implement video SEO. Since YouTube is a part of Google, it should be relatively easy to get a video box. Again, implement Video SEO and encourage audience engagement.
Get a Twitter box.
Tweeting consistently and engaging audiences including your peers from the industry can help you get a Twitter box.
Get a Wikipedia Page or get a wikidata.org entry.
Getting your profiles in either of these places gives you an elite space in the SERP. You can frame the data exactly as you want it to be displayed in the search. But in both these cases you need to adhere to their policy and guidelines.
Step up your link-building strategy.
Though this is the most difficult part, you can aim toward it. Link out to all the mentions in other sites and newspapers. If you do succeed in this, it is your badge of honor.
Conclusion
I know I am talking about a lot of theory here and it is easier said than done. The groundwork behind it is not something that you can accomplish overnight or in a month. It takes gradual growth for the establishment of your brand in the SERP.
I do not have a knowledge card but I have managed to clean up the search and make it presentable for anyone who looks me up. Meanwhile, I can only try the different ways as I discussed here to try and get featured in the knowledge graph.
Do you know any other steps to take to get into the knowledge graph? Let me know in the comments.
FAQ
Which information does the knowledge graph using?
The usual source of information for knowledge graphs is serious reliable websites, publicly accessible data, its own inventory, and Wikidata.
What is the difference between a knowledge graph and a knowledge base?
A knowledge graph is a knowledge base but a graphical representation of data demonstrating the interrelation between entities.
What is the difference between Google knowledge panel and Google my business?
The intent behind the two is the difference. A knowledge panel is informational and Google my business is promotional. But Google my business can be one of the steps taken to get a knowledge panel.
