Do you want to increase your business' or brand's visibility on the world's largest search engine? If so, you should optimize it for Google's Knowledge Graph. According to Moz, over one-third of all Google searches display the Knowledge Graph. Found in the upper-right corner of Google's search engine results page (SERP), it contains aggregated information, as well as links, about well-known brands. By optimizing your brand's online presence, you can encourage Google to display it the Knowledge Graph.
What Is Google's Knowledge Graph, Anyway?
Also known as the Knowledge Panel, the Knowledge Graph is a unique listing on Google that appears for brand entities such as businesses, products, and people. It's designed to provide a snapshot of accurate and relevant information about the respective brand. As Google crawls the internet's 1.8 billion websites, it collects data about brands. If Google deems a brand worthy of the Knowledge Graph, it will display some of this information in the brand's Knowledge Graph listing.
To see an example of a Knowledge Graph listing, search for a popular brand on Google. The search query "Microsoft," for example, reveals a Knowledge Graph listing for the Redmond-based tech company. In the upper-right corner of the SERP, you'll see the Knowledge Graph with aggregated information about Microsoft, including its name, website address, a description from Microsoft's Wikipedia page, customer service phone number, stock price, location of headquarters, CEO, founders, social media profiles and more.
Get Your Brand Listed on Wikipedia
Google often uses information from Wikipedia to create descriptions in the Knowledge Graph, so you need to ensure your brand has its own Wikipedia page. If you have an established, well-known brand, Wikipedia may already have a page for it, in which case you won't have to perform any additional work. If your brand is relatively new or small, on the other hand, it probably won't have its own Wikipedia page.
Unfortunately, Wikipedia will likely delete any page you create for your brand because it's considered a conflict of interest. Wikipedia is intended to offer neutral and unbiased information. If Wikipedia allowed every business owner and entrepreneur to create a page for their brand, the platform would be filled with biased information. With that said, you can encourage a Wikipedia editor to create a page for your brand by actively promoting your brand and building its reputation. Once your brand becomes recognized, a Wikipedia editor may create a page for it.
Create a Wikidata Entry
In addition to Wikipedia, Google may extract information from Wikidata to use in the Knowledge Graph. Therefore, you should get your brand listed on Wikidata as well. Available at wikidata.org, it contains structured data about organizations, people, places, organizations, things, and more. If your brand is listed on Wikidata, Google may use that data to create a Knowledge Graph listing for it.
Add Schema Markup to Website
As explained by Google, it uses schema markup on websites to create Knowledge Graph listings. The Corporate Contact markup, for instance, provides Google with the brand's phone number, whereas Organization markup provides Google with the brand's logo.
These are just too many schema markups used in the Knowledge Graph. By adding schema markup to your brand's official website, Google will better understand your brand and, therefore, may create a Knowledge Graph listing for it.
Build Your Brand's Social Media Profile(s)
It's unlikely Google will give your brand a Knowledge Graph listing unless your brand has a strong social media presence. Nearly all Knowledge Graph listings feature links to the respective brand's social media profiles. By creating and maintain active social media profiles for your brand, Google may reward your brand with a Knowledge Graph listing.
Focus on building your brand's presence on the following social media networks, all of which are used in the Knowledge Graph:
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Instagram
Pinterest
YouTube
Tumblr
Display a Consistent Name, Address, and Phone Number (NAP)
Whether it's on your business' or brand's website, social media profiles, online citations, or elsewhere, you should keep your NAP consistent. If you use different formats for your NAP, Google may struggle to determine which one is correct. As a result, it either won't give your brand a Knowledge Graph listing, or Google will omit your brand's NAP from its listing, which could negatively impact your brand's SEO.
If you feel like your business' or brand's NAP could be displayed inconsistency across the internet, consider utilizing a tool such as Yext.
Build Brand Mentions
Backlinks to your brand's website can help you secure a Knowledge Graph listing, but brand mentions play an even more significant role in the Knowledge Graph. They show Google, as well as the public in general that your brand is reputable and well-known.
You can build more brand mentions using inbound marketing and other techniques, which we discussed in a previous article. In other words, publish relevant content on your brand's website, social media profiles, and other places to get people talking about it. After reading your brand's content, some users may create a mention of it. Each of these mentions will make your brand a more attractive candidate for a Knowledge Graph listing on Google.
Claim Your Brand's Knowledge Graph Listing
Once you've secured a placement for your brand in the Knowledge Graph, you should claim it. Claiming allows you to suggest edits to your brand's Knowledge Graph listing. If you think your listing can be improved, you can indicate this to Google. A human worker at Google will then review your suggestion and make the specified changes.
Your Google Account
At the bottom of the Knowledge Graph listing, click the link at the bottom asking if you manage the brand's online presence. Next, you'll be asked to log in to one of your brand's social media profiles. After logging in to your brand's profile on one of the specified social media networks, your Google account will now be authorized to suggest edits to your brand's Knowledge Graph listing.
Takeaway
Google doesn't display every brand in a Knowledge Graph listing. Instead, only established and well-known brands are shown here. By optimizing your brand's online presence, however, you'll have a better chance at winning a Knowledge Graph listing.