If you use Google, you have more than likely come across the Google Knowledge Panel without even knowing. The Knowledge Panel is a box that will appear on the right-hand sign of certain Google Searches. It is a feature of Google’s SERP (Search Engine Results Page), which will display information about entities and how they relate to other entities. If you Google a small business, famous person, or other specific term, you’ll usually get a knowledge panel as part of your results. The Knowledge Panel will contain brief information about your search.
Google started using Knowledge Graph in 2012 to enhance its search results with semantic information gathered from a variety of sources. The Knowledge Graph is essentially a huge database where Google stores information about entities and their relationships. Through Knowledge Graph, Google has the ability to understand entities, as opposed to keywords.
What exactly is an entity?
Entities are people, places, or things that are identifiable by being distinct from one another. For example: the word Chicago may refer to many different things including both the city or the movie Chicago. It is a word, but you could be searching for different entities. Google will consider how these entities relate to one another. Because Google understands these relationships, Google has the ability to display rich information on its SERP, for example, the awards the movie Chicago won or the population of the city of Chicago.
Why is Google Knowledge Panel important to your business?
Your business is an entity, which relates to others, such as your location, your industry, the products you sell, and your competitors. Google’s understanding of businesses as entities allows its SERP to provide a great detail of information and join the dots of many different data sources. For a local business, Google can display information such as your contact number, peak times, hours of operation, and reviews. This is an opportunity for a prominent area on the search result page for your business.
How can your business appear in the Knowledge Panel?
Google will display a Knowledge Panel in return to “branded queries”. These are searches that will contain your business name or a number of one of your products. Google will use what it knows about your business and your products to provide a user with relevant information on the SERP. A businesses ability to display a Knowledge Panel depends on many factors. Google will use an algorithm to assess whether or not a user is interested in the information about your business. If the algorithm decides that your information will enhance the user’s experience, then your Knowledge Panel will show.
