Understanding Google’s Knowledge Graph and Its Impact on Your Business
Introduction
Google’s Knowledge Graph is a network of ideas and information that is connected by Entities and links. These Entities can be an idea, an individual, a company, or anything that Google is extremely knowledgeable about. The Google Knowledge Graph contains a large number of Entities and information about their relationships. In 2012, Google launched the Knowledge Graph in an attempt to improve its search functionality. Google planned to do this by gaining a better understanding of what users were searching for instead of solely focusing on keyword matching. This blog post will go over the importance of being in the Knowledge Graph, how to create a powerful entity and how to monitor your own entity amongst much more.
Section 1: Understanding Brand Entities and the Knowledge Graph
To better understand the Google Knowledge Graph, we must first define what an Entity is. An Entity is defined by Google as a “well-defined, unique, and distinguishable thing.” This can be anything from people and places to an idea or concept. By having Entities in Google’s Knowledge Graph, it enables Google to gain a deeper understanding of each search. This deeper understanding means Google can more accurately match results to user queries.
Due to the abilities of Google’s Entities and the Knowledge Graph, Google can conduct something called semantic searches. Semantic search utilises natural language processing (NLP), machine learning (ML), and the Knowledge Graph to create a more thorough search experience. These processes analyse Entities as well as their relationships to other Entities, gaining more context and often resulting in a more tailored search experience. For example, if you search the term “orange” on Google, it could refer to the colour, the fruit, the Australian town, or the city in the USA. This is where semantic search comes in; it deciphers what Entity the user is actually searching for based on a context-rich search approach. This helps to curate a more personalised and tailored search engine results page (SERP) for the user.
Section 2: Why being in the knowledge graph matters
Having a strong Entity in the Knowledge Graph is extremely beneficial in terms of visibility. Having a strong Entity opens more opportunities to be shown on the SERPs with knowledge panels and featured snippets. Knowledge panels are small windows that appear on the right side of the SERP, providing a brief overview of an Entity. This overview includes facts and information about the Entity that the user searched for. Featured snippets appear at the top of the SERP page before the ranked results. They are highlighted excerpts that are pulled directly from a web page and shown at the top of the page.
Being part of the Google Knowledge Graph is also known to increase chances of appearing in voice search recognition results. When people use voice search, Google can better understand the context in which the query is asked, and so it is then able to relay better-informed results to the user. Being in Google’s Knowledge Graph can also be of benefit to businesses in crowded industries. By being in the Knowledge Graph, businesses have the ability to control their own narrative around their brand. If a business takes the necessary steps to increase their presence in the Knowledge Graph, they can gain valuable perks and increased visibility.
Section 3: How to Build a Strong Brand Entity
So now we know why being in the Knowledge Graph matters, but how do you build a strong brand Entity?
3.1 Establishing Your Brand Identity
To establish your brand identity, you need to create consistent branding across the internet. This involves making sure your brand name, logo, and messaging are up-to-date and consistent with your brand’s tone. As well as building a strong reputation, actively managing and verifying your brand’s online profiles and listings help to enhance brand credibility. This helps the Knowledge Graph better understand your brand identity, assisting Google in creating a stronger and more relevant brand Entity.
3.2 Optimize Your Website for Entity Recognition
Optimising your website for Entity recognition is a great way to further strengthen Google’s knowledge of your brand. This can help improve website rankings and improve visibility through knowledge panels and featured snippets.
Simple ways to optimise your website include structuring data and enhancing content quality. Structuring data is integral in optimising for Entity, as it allows Google to search your brand’s information far easier. A great way to help structure your website is by using schema markup. Schema markup is a bit of code that you add to your website, helping the search engine to easily understand your website’s content. Schema markup was developed by Schema.org, and it is a bit of code that gets added to your website’s HTML and essentially better structures your data. It helps search engines to understand and structure your website content by making it easier for search engines to interpret.
A further way to optimise your website for Entity recognition is by utilising an “About Us” page. This provides a structured source of information to your website whilst helping Google find valuable information about your company’s mission and tone of voice. Businesses can tailor the information they put in their about us section to be perceived a certain way by Google and users. This allows businesses the freedom to put together an “About Us” section that presents the information they want people to see.
Publishing consistent, authoritative material that links to your Entity is, of course, one of the best strategies to optimize your website for Entity recognition. Despite its simplicity, this is one of the most crucial elements in creating your identity, as it demonstrates to search engines that your brand and website are dependable and trustworthy.
3.3 Connect Your Brand Across the Web
Building your brand entity can also be helped by connecting your brand online. Making sure your brand is consistent in terms of branding, tone of voice, colours, and other elements wherever it is displayed or promoted online is known as connecting your brand. This makes your brand recognizable and increases the likelihood of being mentioned and cited by reliable sources.
3.4 Strengthen Knowledge Graph Associations
Knowledge Graph Associations are the interconnected links that connect Entities to one another. There are multiple ways to strengthen your Knowledge Graph Associations. Methods include creating a brand knowledge base, leveraging semantic SEO, and using internal linking.
A knowledge base for your brand is simply information about your brand. You want this knowledge base to be structured and easy to navigate for users and search engines. A good way to implement a knowledge base is by adding a frequently asked questions (FAQs) page to your website. Within the FAQs section you can then answer some of the most common questions people have about your brand. This is also useful as it helps to leverage semantic SEO. By answering questions about your company, it helps Google to form a deeper understanding and more well-rounded view of your business, strengthening your brand Entity and increasing your chances of being shown in the search results.
Additionally, internal linking is another technique to strengthen your brand Entity. By including links to your other web pages, you can help Google identify information that is linked to your Entity, providing further context for your brand.
Section 4: Tools & Methods to Track Entity Growth
To track your Entity growth there are a variety of tools and methods you can use. Google’s Knowledge Graph Search API is a great way to track your brand Entity. Through the Knowledge Graph Search API, you can determine if Google recognises your brand as its own distinct Entity in the Knowledge Graph, and by following the Search API over time, you can see how your Entity evolves. You can also use programs such as SEMrush, InLinks, and Kalicube to monitor your Entity growth.
Section 5: Common Mistakes to Avoid
When trying to strengthen your brand Entity there are a few common mistakes that should be avoided. Having inconsistent brand details across platforms is one. Inconsistencies in your brand’s information, neglecting structured data, and ignoring content that reinforces brand identity are some mistakes brands make. These mistakes make it difficult for Google to access your brand’s information and determine a strong understanding of your brand’s identity. Another mistake brands make is putting too much emphasis on backlinks, and so they neglect Entity authority. This also makes it more difficult for Google to put together a clear brand Entity.
Section 6: Future of Entities in SEO
Entities in SEO are becoming increasingly important as AI reshapes the search experience. With conversational queries on the rise due to voice search and AI-driven tools, search engines are placing more importance on understanding Entities instead of just keywords. Strong Entities provide more context, making them more likely to succeed as the SERPs evolve to deliver results tailored to brands and the information surrounding them.
The need for strong Entities has increased significantly due to the introduction of AI Overviews, which draw heavily on Entities and Google’s Knowledge Graph. While AI Overviews represent a significant shift in how information is presented, they don’t make Knowledge Panels or Featured Snippets obsolete. Knowledge Panels still provide quick, fact-based overviews from trusted sources, which are very valuable for high-intent searches, while Featured Snippets offer concise, direct answers that stand out at the top of the SERP, which is shown to still boost CTR. AI Overviews, on the other hand, can be longer, sometimes inaccurate, and they don’t appear for every query. For this reason, Entity first SEO alongside traditional keyword strategies is the best approach. Building a strong Entity not only supports visibility across AI-driven features, but it also strengthens the authority through Knowledge Panels and Featured Snippets, ensuring brands remain competitive in the evolving search landscape.
5. Conclusion
Google’s Knowledge Graph is a powerful database and a valuable information resource that can be used to benefit businesses. You can see significant gains in online visibility and performance by keeping an eye on your brand’s online presence and developing your brand Entity. If you want to improve your Entity, follow the tips spoken about above or contact us today!