As search continues to evolve, Google’s search engine has become more intuitive, offering users increasingly relevant and precise information. One of the key drivers behind this evolution is Google’s Knowledge Graph—a knowledge base from which Google serves relevant information in an infobox beside its search results.
For SEOs and content marketers, understanding Google’s Knowledge Graph is essential to leveraging the full power of search visibility. This article will explain what Google’s Knowledge Graph is, how it differs from Knowledge Panels, and how tools like Schema Markup can help your website become part of this intricate information ecosystem. Let’s jump in!
About Google’s Knowledge Graph
Google’s Knowledge Graph is a knowledge base that organizes vast amounts of information from reliable sources like Freebase, Wikipedia, and the CIA World Factbook. Google also states that it is “tuned based on what people search for, and what we find out on the web.”
Its primary purpose is to better understand the relationships between different entities—whether they are people, places, things, etc—and to use that information to provide more accurate search results.
Google’s Knowledge Graph traces its roots back to Freebase, an open data platform founded by Metaweb in 2007. Freebase was a collection of structured data referred to as “synapses for the global brain.” In 2010, Google acquired Freebase and integrated its data into what would become the foundation of the Knowledge Graph. This marked a shift in how Google handled search results, moving from traditional keyword-based search to semantic search, famously coined “things, not strings.”
Instead of matching words in a query, Google began to understand the intent behind those queries and the entities involved. For example, a search for “capital city of the country with the Eiffel Tower” will return Paris, France, despite neither “Paris” nor “France” being explicitly mentioned. This powerful entity-based search is enabled by Google’s Knowledge Graph’s connections between different facts and concepts across the web.
Now that we have a clearer understanding of how Google’s Knowledge Graph drives search experiences, it’s important to distinguish how this differs from what users sometimes see in search results: Knowledge Panels.
Knowledge Graphs vs. Knowledge Panels: What’s the Difference?
While Google’s Knowledge Graph contributes to its semantic search abilities, the visible manifestation of this data is sometimes represented as a Knowledge Panel.
Knowledge Panels are the fact boxes that appear on the right-hand side of Google’s search engine results pages (SERPs), displaying relevant information about entities such as businesses, people, or locations. They are designed to give users a quick overview of a searched topic based on Google’s interpretation of available web content. For example, below is the Knowledge Panel for the company Berkshire Hathaway.
The key difference between Google’s Knowledge Graph and Knowledge Panel is this: The Knowledge Graph is the behind-the-scenes database that stores and organizes information, while Knowledge Panels are a front-facing display of that information. Not every search result triggers a Knowledge Panel, but when they do, they are often populated by information from Google’s Knowledge Graph.
“Knowledge panels are automatically generated, and information that appears in a knowledge panel comes from various sources across the web. In some cases, we may work with data partners who provide authoritative data on specific topics like movies or music, and combine that data with information from other open web sources.” – Google, About Knowledge Panels
Users can find out whether the knowledge panel is informed through Google’s Knowledge Graph by choosing the ‘About this result’ option, as shown in the example below.
It’s important to note that you can’t apply for a Knowledge Panel. Instead, Google automatically generates them based on the information it collects from various sources like Wikipedia and other trusted databases. Users can, however, “claim” their Knowledge Panel and make edit suggestions to it if the information presented has any errors.
For more information on claiming and updating your Knowledge Panel, visit this link.
While you might not be able to apply for a Knowledge Panel, you can utilize Schema Markup to help ensure that accurate and relevant information is fed into Google’s Knowledge Graph and influence the information shown on your Knowledge Panel!
Let’s explore how Schema Markup further supports Google’s Knowledge Graph.
How Schema Markup Powers Google’s Knowledge Graph
Schema Markup is a form of structured data – powered by the Schema.org vocabulary – that helps search engines understand the content on your website by translating it into a machine-readable format.
When you implement Schema Markup, you are effectively identifying and defining the entities in your website content that make up your organization—people, products, events—and how they relate to one another.
For example, your website might have content about things such as who your CEO is, where your organization is headquartered, your organization’s logo, and more.
In their Organization structured data documentation, Google has stated that adding Organization structured data and its relevant properties can influence visual elements like your Knowledge Panel.
Therefore, by adding Organization markup to your home page, you can use properties such as founder, location, logo, and more to help Google gain a better understanding of your organization and the relevant information it stores about your organization in its Knowledge Graph.
You can also use Schema Markup to perform entity linking, where you can connect entities mentioned on your site to external authoritative knowledge bases like Wikipedia or Wikidata. Doing so can enable Google to disambiguate the entities mentioned on your site and clearly understand its relationship with other things on the internet. By disambiguating and calling out these entity relationships in a structured way, you are building your own Content Knowledge Graph!
For instance, take the following visualization of Schema App’s Content Knowledge Graph, where Schema App, the main entity, is linked to other related entities.
Implementing Schema Markup helps Google recognize entities in your content that are already part of the Google Knowledge Graph. By linking to these known entities, your Schema Markup adds valuable context, enhancing Google’s understanding of them. This not only strengthens Google’s Knowledge Graph but also contributes to building a Knowledge Graph for your own organization.
How Schema App Helps Organizations Implement Schema Markup
Google’s Knowledge Graph plays a critical role in the age of semantic search and can influence your organization’s knowledge panel. If you want to accurately inform Google about your organization, you can utilize Schema Markup to do so.
Implementing Schema Markup manually can be complex, especially at scale. This is where Schema App comes in.
At Schema App, we provide businesses with a scalable end-to-end Schema Markup and Content Knowledge Graph solution. Our semantic technologies enable us to implement semantic Schema Markup and Entity Linking at scale, ensuring search engines like Google understand your organization and its relationships with other things on the web.
Understanding Google’s Knowledge Graph is vital for SEOs and content marketers who want to improve search visibility. By leveraging Schema Markup, you can help your website contribute to this powerful database, enhancing your online presence and boosting the chances of appearing in rich results and Knowledge Panels.
Get started with Schema App today to unlock the full potential of Schema Markup and ensure your organization is accurately represented in Google’s Knowledge Graph.
Jasmine is the Product Manager at Schema App. Schema App is an end-to-end Schema Markup solution that helps enterprise SEO teams create, deploy and manage Schema Markup to stand out in search.