Searching Google’s Knowledge Graph API
The Google Knowledge Graph API reveals entity information related to a keyword, that Google knows about. This information can be very useful for SEO โ discovering related topics and what Google believes is relevant. It can also help when trying to claim/win a Knowledge Graph box on search results. The API requires a high level of technical understanding, so this tool creates a simple public interface, with the ability to export data into spreadsheets.
Understanding Google’s Knowledge Graph Results
- Relevancy Score: How relevant Google thinks this entity is to your search term. Higher numbers indicate more confidence.
- Description: A short description of the entity.
- Types: The entityโs object Schema.org types. More information on this on the Schema.org website.
- View on Google: Preview the information box that Google sometimes displays to the right of search results. This special URL is generated using the entityโs unique ID.
- Detailed Description: A detailed description of the entity. At this time, these seem to always be sourced from Wikipedia. After the description, links to the source article (Wikipedia) and license are listed.
- Image: As with the description, this appears to always be taken from Wikipedia.
- Image (URL): Google-hosted copy of the image. These are usually small and heavily compressed.
- Image (Source): The imageโs Wikipedia media page. Typically this will have much higher-quality versions of the image.
- Image (License): A link to the imageโs license and usage information.
Google Knowledge Graph FAQs
Iโve heard about Googleโs Knowledge Graph, should it be something I am concerned about?
Entities, which in the context of search engines relate to tangible objects like people, locations, companies and places and how they relate to each other, are an important aspect of modern day SEO and are represented in Googleโs Knowledge Graph.
For example, if you search for the entity โBarack Obama ”, youโll be greeted with a Knowledge Panel (a visual representation of Knowledge Graph) result on the right-hand side with details and links around his bio, date of birth, political party, family and social media profiles.
For businesses, optimising Knowledge Panels are a great way to heighten brand awareness, drive traffic to various areas of your business profiles across the web, and occupy a good amount of real estate on search engines.
For companies wanting to work on their online reputation management, Knowledge Graph is a relatively low-effort high-reward venture in terms of the visibility improvements it can help with.
How do I check my Google Knowledge Panel?
A simple search on your business or brand name, products, key people with a profile within the organisation or address, will show you if you have a Knowledge Panel result.
Knowledge Panels can also be represented in local SEO listings. If your business isnโt large or famous enough to warrant a Google-generated panel, you can have some control over this by getting your team to create and optimising local SEO listings.
Will Knowledge Graph understanding impact SEO?
In short, yes, albeit in many ways. Occupying a large space on the right-hand side of the search results will not only increase organic brand awareness and trust can also drive sales.
You can even benefit in this respect from non-branded related searches, or competitor searches. Users searching for brands like Apple may also be presented with Knowledge Graph data on related companies like Microsoft or Samsung.
The flipside of this is that through representation of such rich data in the search results which can often provide users with the answers they need, actual clicks may decline. For example, if a user is searching for โcompany that owns Marmiteโ they will be represented with a Knowledge Panel detailing Unilever, which will satisfy their search intent without the need to click through.
Overall however, itโs worth leveraging efforts within your business to claim or improve your Knowledge Graph presence, as done right it can serve as a form of free advertising.
How does Google’s Knowledge Graph impact search results?
Search results can be impacted by displaying a large, detailed Knowledge Panel in the right-hand side, either generated by Googleโs understanding of the entity around the search query or by local SEO listings.
Depending on the nature of the query, Knowledge Graph can also impact search results by showing a rich snippet from an article which is deemed to contain the best answer to satisfy the query.
For example, a search for โrichest companies in the worldโ will return a featured snippet result gathered from various sources around the world detailing a number of companies around this query.
How does the Knowledge Graph fit into a broader SEO strategy, and what other tactics should businesses consider to improve their online presence?
If youโre a business, established or otherwise, then you should use the power of Knowledge Graph to tie in as much information you have on your company on the web and have it represented accordingly.
Providing information to Google Knowledge Graph, either in the form of providing information to Knowledge Panel results or through Google My Business local SEO listings can help with your Schema and featured snippet ventures too.
Giving Google as much information around your business, its services and products via your content strategy will see the likelihood of your brand being associated with certain key unbranded search terms in the form of rich snippet results – these are the types of queries you ultimately want to go for as itโs where the real SEO opportunity lies.
Which sources does Google use for the Knowledge Graph?
Google gathers data for Knowledge Graph from millions of sources around the web, though they have directly cited Wikipedia, Freebase and the CIA World Factbook as key sources to help inform how Knowledge Graph is represented in search results.
This is confounded in many Knowledge Panel results for well-known entities (think celebrities or world-famous companies) with Wikipedia often being the source link for the information provided.
Where does Knowledge Graph optimisation sit within the marketing team?
If youโre looking to establish a Google My Business local SEO, improve your Knowledge Graph data or wish to give feedback on an existing Knowledge Panel result, then this area can be owned by various components of your marketing team.
Brand mentions and article placement in major publications will help with your Knowledge Graph credentials, and this can be aided by your link building or digital PR team. Schema markup (in particular Organization markup), another partner to Googleโs Knowledge Graph, can be implemented by your website management, product or developer team.
Creating Wikidata (if youโre not in a position to have a Wikipedia entry) can also boost your Knowledge Graph prowess and this can be done by your brand and content teams.
How does Knowledge Graph impact local search?
Local Knowledge Panels, or Googly My Business listings, are a great way to heighten brand awareness and encourage user interaction through your brand by getting in touch or leaving a review. Done well, they serve as a great vessel for what is eventually free advertising on Google for your brand.
These panels also provide key information such as business details, opening hours, photos and more.
Outside of branded listings, having Knowledge Panel and Google My Business listings may see your brand appear for queries such as โItalian restaurants near meโ or โinsurance company near meโ in the form of local place results. The more detail you provide on your listings here will heighten your visibility around these local searches and will increase your chance of getting business.
Do I need to invest into Knowledge Graph optimisation?
Knowledge Graph optimisation should be a part of your SEO strategy as a business owner looking to increase your organic visibility and drive more sales.
A good SEO strategy ties in activities both within and outside your website, whether thatโs improving your technical SEO or content offering or growing your brand awareness via link building on third-party platforms.
Knowledge Graph optimisation is something you can continue to build on as your business grows and develops, and given there are some areas that you can directly feed into (such as local SEO listings) and have relative control over.
How does AI/Bard relate to Knowledge Graph?
Knowledge Graphs are closely connected to machine learning and AI. With Googleโs AI chatbot model Bard in mind, information in answers to certain prompts around businesses and other such entities leverages data from within Googleโs Knowledge Graph, so make sure youโre sending all the right signals.
Further Reading
- A Laymanโs Visual Guide To Googleโs Knowledge Graph Search API โ Search Engine Land
- What Are Entities & Why They Matter for SEO โ Search Engine Journal
- Answering Questions using the Knowledge Graph โ Bill Slawski
- Entity Extractions for Knowledge Graphs at Google โ Bill Slawski
- Guide to the Knowledge Graph โ Google Inside Search
- Discussion of the Knowledge Graph API Release โ Hacker News
- How to Check If Youโre an Online Entity โ Knowledge Graph Search API โ Elite SEM
- Entity Associations with Websites and Related Entities โ SEO by the Sea
- Google Releases Long-Awaited Knowledge Graph API โ SEO Skeptic
- Google Knowledge Graph Search API Documentation โ Google