Understanding Google Knowledge Panels: Boost Your Brand Awareness and Perception
In 2012, Google introduced a new feature to their search engine results page (SERP) called Google’s knowledge panel. These panels display a box of basic, verified information about well-known people, places, and things, answering popular questions directly on the SERP. While at first glance, this feature may seem like a negative thing from a marketing perspective, understanding how these knowledge panels work can actually help you increase brand awareness and take control of how your brand is perceived online.
Bottom Line: In this digital age, Google knowledge panels play an essential role in shaping your online presence, making it crucial for e-commerce business owners and managers to understand and optimize them for maximum brand exposure.
Discovering the Features of Knowledge Panels
Google knowledge panels pull their information from Google’s Knowledge Graph. The information displayed in a knowledge panel varies depending on the subject. When searching for a company, you might encounter:
- The business name and headquarters location
- An image or images, such as the business logo or storefront
- A short description
- Financial information such as current stock price and yearly revenue
- Structural information like subsidiaries and/or parent companies
- Historical information like predecessors, names of founders, and founding date
- Links to social media profiles such as Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn
- A “people also search for” section with related entities, such as business competitors
Navigating the Limitations of Knowledge Panels
While Google’s knowledge panels provide users a quick snapshot of an entity, limitations do exist. Due to the panels being automatically sourced from the internet by an algorithm and being editable by users, inaccuracies may occur. As a business owner, it’s important to remember that you cannot directly control or edit knowledge panels.
Optimizing Your Brand’s Knowledge Panel
While you can’t request or purchase a Google knowledge panel, there are steps you can take to optimize your chances of obtaining and maintaining one:
- Create an About page: Make it easy for Google to find relevant information about your business on an easy-to-find, search-engine-optimized page on your website.
- Stay consistent: Present the same information across various platforms that Google pulls from, like LinkedIn, Twitter, Wikipedia, and YouTube.
- Claim your knowledge panel: Get verified with Google and add other users to your account to have more control over your brand’s online presence.
Embracing the power of Google knowledge panels can contribute significantly to your brand’s online success. By understanding their features and limitations, as well as taking steps to optimize your knowledge panel, you can enhance your brand’s authority and awareness in the digital landscape.
