Just about every business these days is online, with new ones joining every day. In order to stand out above your competition, you need to take an active role in enhancing your brand’s visibility and providing potential clients with relevant information.
When consumers want something, one of the first places they go to is Google to conduct a search. Many consumers stick to only the top few search results, rarely scrolling past the first half of the page. Another great way to get your business in Google’s knowledge graph.
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What is the Knowledge Graph?
Google’s knowledge graph was introduced in 2012. This innovative tool collects and collates facts about people, places, things, and businesses to create search results and present them to users with the information they need in a very neat little card. Optimizing your knowledge graph allows Google to better understand the content of your website. Based on the queries of consumers, your information can be displayed in the knowledge graph, helping to drive traffic to your website.
How Does the Knowledge Graph Work?
Your information is displayed in two ways in the Google knowledge graph. It appears in a small boxed section on the right of the search results page and it appears at the top of the page in a carousel. The knowledge graph provides specific, accurate information about your business when a consumer uses the search engine to find you.
Google uses a few criteria to determine if your brand fits into the knowledge graph. These criteria include user behavior, semantic search, and entity indexing. Getting included in the knowledge graph is essential for presenting useful information about your business, including your contact information, your address, and your hours of operation. The knowledge graph can also showcase your reviews, giving credibility to your business. In order to get listed, there are a few things that you will need to do.
Source: The What, Why, and How of the Google Knowledge Graph
Claim Your Business
In order to build visibility in both the search results page and on the map results, it is essential that you claim your business on your Google listing. This can be done through your Google My Business page. By claiming your business, you will be able to show up in the search results page when consumers search for businesses similar to your own.
Source: SEO Company USA | McKremie | Link Building, Content Marketing
Leverage Schema Markup on Your Homepage
While invisible to your website visitors, your schema markup is critical if you want the Google knowledge graph to pick up information about your business. Schema markup is a form of “microdata.” When it is added to a page, it creates an enhanced description which then appears in the search results page. Fill in all of the relevant information. If you aren’t quite sure where to begin, you can look to Google’s own summary of what should be included while customizing your knowledge graph. You can also use Google’s testing tool to make sure that your schema markup is valid.
Source: schema.org: Home
Create an Entry on Wikipedia
Many knowledge graphs get their information, including business descriptions, from Wikipedia. Google also often gets web addresses from Wikipedia as well, unless you provide it yourself. If you don’t have a Wikipedia page, it can be helpful to create one. You may also look to create an entry on Wikidata.
Gather Reviews
Positive customer reviews can be essential for driving new customer traffic to your website. Encourage your customers to leave reviews about your business on review websites, including Google, Yelp, and others that are relevant to your business.
Maintain a Social Media Presence
If you take a close look at a knowledge graph, you may notice a small section that is devoted to showing what social media platforms businesses are active on. For instance, you might have a profile on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. The banners for these social media platforms will appear in this section to let consumers know where else to find you. In addition to increasing your visibility, these banners will help consumers to more easily find your profiles on social media.
The Google knowledge graph can be an incredibly helpful tool for gaining more attention and attracting more visitors to your website. The knowledge graph provides your potential customers with important information before they even get to your website, which can help to increase the chances that they will stop in and become an actual customer.
I think the panels are useful but I’ve never thought about optimizing them for SEO.