Chapter 5
Search engine results pages (SERPs) aren’t equal. The more prominent your content is on the pages, the higher the chances of visitors will click through to your website. If you get a Google Knowledge Panel for your brand, you will occupy notable prime real estate on the SERPs and get more clicks.
Getting on the front page of Google is every company’s dream.
Since up to 75% of searchers never scroll past the first page of Google search results, the stakes couldn’t be higher. But even being on page 1 isn’t enough anymore. For best results, you must be on the top part of the page. An investigation by Backlinko showed that the top 3 Google search results get 75.1% of all clicks.
What’s the point?
The top of the page is where all the action happens.
SEO has become a zero-sum game. At the top, you get everything—nothing at the bottom.
Zero. Zilch. Nada. There’s no middle ground.
That’s why a knowledge panel is priceless. It allows you to claim branded prime real estate at the top of the SERPs.
Let’s find out how.
What Is Google Knowledge Panel?
Introduced back in 2012, Google Knowledge Panels are boxes of info that appear on the right of the search engine result pages when you search for people, places, products, events, organizations, or even concepts.
Translation: a panel can appear for anything Google feels is worth showcasing.
Below is a sample of Sarah Cooper’s knowledge panel.
They pull the results from the Knowledge Graph, Google’s knowledge database, where they collate billions of pieces of data and their relationships to each other. They show basic facts about the comedian and author’s:
- Brief biography
- Social media profiles
- Website address
- Books
- Age
- Nationality
- Spouse
- Movies and TV shows
In short, her entire digital footprint that sums up who she is and what she does.
On mobile devices, the panel doesn’t necessarily appear on top. It may appear further down the page. Google sometimes breaks it down into smaller chunks to make it easier for users on space-starved mobile devices to consume the content.
The Knowledge Panel is a tremendous opportunity for personal brands to appear in branded searches and get the attention they crave.
3 Benefits Of Getting Google Knowledge Panel
Why bother with getting the knowledge panel?
Is it worth all the trouble?
You bet it is. Here’s why.
1. A Free Prominent Billboard
Take a guess.
How much does roadside billboard advertising cost? How much would you fork out to feature your brand on a massive unmissable billboard on the side of a busy highway like this?
Source: Blueline Media
According to billboards ads company Blueline Media, you must cough out up to $30k to advertise your brand for only four weeks. After that, you must pay more to continue promoting your company.
Well, being featured on a knowledge panel gives you a gigantic bulletin on the information superhighway where millions of people pass by every day. Imagine the potential customers you can attract for free, for life.
With all these benefits at stake, a knowledge panel is worth pursuing.
1. Increased Credibility aka Your New Business Card
Snagging a knowledge panel proves you are a top dog in your industry.
That’s what people think when they see your brand plastered on a noteworthy portion of the front page. Forget your traditional business card Rolodex. Your brand SERP is your new business card where prospects get all the essentials about your brand.
Brand SERP is what appears on Google when someone searches your brand name.
Here’s the thing.
People will Google your brand name at some point in the customer’s journey. If they find you splashed on the knowledge panel, imagine the respect and admiration they have for your brand.
That’s why brand SERP is gaining prominence by the day.
2. SEO Benefits
An optimized knowledge panel is like setting lighting SEO dynamite for your brand.
Below are some SEO benefits of knowledge panels:
- You dominate the SERPs and dwarf your competitors since the panel is prominent.
- You can gain more fans from your social links.
- You get traffic to your website via the displayed site URL.
- You get warm traffic to your products and events.
- You established yourself as an authority in your industry.
- You increase click-through rates to your online properties.
Now that you see the advantages of a knowledge panel, let’s see how you can land one in the first place.
How To Get A Google Knowledge Panel For Your Business
We’ve established how landing a knowledge panel benefits personal brands. But the big question we must answer is how you go about getting your prized panel.
Google explained how they generate knowledge panels:
“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.”
In short, you get a knowledge panel by making the right (brand) noises in strategic places Google likes and trusts. The rest of this section will show you where and how to show up in Google’s favorite watering holes to snag a knowledge panel.
Let’s get into the tactics.
1. Get Verified On Google
Because Google generates panels automatically, the first step you must take is to check if yours is there already.
To do that, do a Google search for your brand name.
Do you see your panel?
Congrats! But you must claim it.
First, sign in to your Gmail account.
Second. go to the down panel and click ‘claim this knowledge panel’. It looks like this.
Source: Search Engine Land
They will then take you to the verification page.
Click the ‘Get verified’ button. You will see an image identical to this one.
Source: Search Engine Land
The pages give you options to verify your identity and claim your knowledge panel. Your options include any of the following sites or profiles:
- Google Search Console
- YouTube
Google trusts these sites to validate that you are the authorized representative of the panel. To complete the verification and clinch your panel, sign in to one of your recognized official entities.
Congrats. 🎉🎉🎉
You now officially own a Google Knowledge Panel.
People will take your brand more seriously now. Google, the biggest search engine on the planet, thinks you are important enough to get featured at the top of their sought-after search results—organically.
Your niche authority is a fact, not just a claim you make. Vast difference.
2. Create And Optimize Your Google My Business Profile
To boost your chances of dominating your local business circles, and put yourself in a good position to get the personal panel, work on your Google My Business (GMB) listing.
Go to https://www.google.com/business/ and click start now. Fill in the required details and verify your listing by postcard, phone, or Google Search Console.
Quick tips to optimizing your GMB listing
- Complete All Your Details
The more thorough the info you provide, the more material you give the algorithm to work with, and the more likely you will show up in search results when people search for you or your products. Complete listings driveway more conversions than bare ones:
- 2,7x more people will consider you a reputable brand.
- 70% more likely to attract local visitors from browsers who see your profile.
- 50% more likely to lead to a purchase.
Source: Proceed Innovative
If you put scanty info, you hurt your chances of appearing in search results.
- Be Specific When Choosing Your Business Category
GMB business has pre-written categories. Since you can’t write a custom category, you must work with what’s there. Be super specific when picking your business category. Choose a term that best describes what you do, not a general one. Say you run a baby clothing store. Choose ‘baby clothing’ store’ not ‘clothing store’. This may look minor but makes a big difference in the world. It means you only connect with people who are interested in babywear, not adult wear.
Always check the categories list because Google updates them from time to time.
- Massage Top Keywords Into Your Listing
Keywords are a crucial part of the online SEO architecture. Make sure you work your main keywords and the secondary synonyms that go alongside it. Smart use of keywords throughout your listing such as in your description summary, posts, photo captions will improve your chances of getting organic rankings.
The more organic visitors, the better because it shows you have nailed your keyword strategy. Here is a good case in point from Wholesome Commerce.
- Spice Up Your Business Descriptive Summary
The descriptive summary is the backbone of your listing. Use the 150 words at your disposal to state what you do memorably.
- Be clear.
- Be unique.
- Be fascinating.
- Be different.
- Be concise.
- Include Relevant Photos
Your photos determine the first impression and tone you create. Images give visitors a quick sense of who you are and what you stand for. Use high-resolution photos that perfectly match your positioning.
Both your cover photo and additional photos must be stunning and relevant.
- Respond To All Customer Reviews
Customer reviews are a powerful form of social proof. When customers leave reviews, read them and reply. While positive reviews delight you, negative ones can dampen your spirit. But you must respond to them to convince customers you are a caring, authentic brand.
Only 25% of companies respond to customer reviews. So if you do, you will have a competitive edge over your competitors as these numbers show:
- Brands that respond to reviews earn 35% more revenue than those that don’t. (Womply)
- Companies that reply to 30% of their reviews outshine their competitors. (Uberall)
- Up to 49% of customers claim that when a brand responds to their reviews, it shows the brand cares about its customers. (Bazaarvoice)
- Not responding to customers’ reviews increases churn by 15%. (Chatmeter)
Responding to reviews improves your brand perception and local SEO.
Here is a superb optimized GMB listing that puts all these tips to good use.
Source: Word Stream
The difference between the basic incomplete listing on the left and the rich optimized one on the right is clear. Surely, the listing on the right will entice visitors more and create a better first impression of the brand.
Besides GMB, use this handy list to get listed on other online business directories to boost visibility further.
3. Create A Wikipedia Page For Your Business
Of all the independent info sources, Google trusts Wikipedia the most.
So a presence there puts you into Google’s favorite fishing pond when looking for information to include in knowledge panels.
Here’s how to go about it.
Hop over to Wikipedia and click on ‘create account’ on the top right corner of the page. They will take you to this page:
Fill in all the required details:
- Username
- Password
- Email address
Note: your username will be in the public domain, so reflect on it and make sure it aligns with your brand.
Then hit ‘create your account’. Easy peasy.
Next, to become a recognized auto-confirmed Wikipedia user, you must log in to your account after 4 days and edit some Wikipedia pages. To get confirmed you must make at least 10 edits. The following actions count as edits:
- Uploading a new item.
- Create articles.
- Move pages.
- Insert a relevant link.
- Put an article in the deletion list.
Spread your edits over a month or so. On reaching the required 10 edits threshold, you will become an auto-confirmed Wikipedia user.
But don’t stop there.
Create a research-heavy page. Write about a subject you know inside out and can speak authoritatively about. Because Wikipedia prefers data-rich content, back up your content with solid references from:
- Journals
- Books
- Newspapers
- Magazines
They don’t allow you to cite press releases, blogs, and social media sources.
To increase chances of acceptance, don’t write a self-promotional article. Besides, maintain a neutral professional tone. Here are a few more dos and don’ts from their page creation guidelines.
Once you feel you have followed all their instructions down to the tee, submit your page for consideration. If Wikipedia feels you have created a useful, credible, authoritative page, they will publish it. Revisit your page regularly to freshen up the content and especially the citations because they are an indispensable part of a Wikipedia entry. They want fresh, trustworthy references.
Another way to have a presence in Wikipedia is through Wikidata, one of their trusted sources they constantly draw from.
Wikidata stores structured data, and anyone can edit the pages and make data entries. Thankfully, making a Wikidata entry is easier than creating a research-heavy Wikipedia page.
While being active on Wikipedia and Wikidata is a significant step to being considered for a knowledge panel, you can do more.
5 Ways To Boost Your Chances Of Landing A Knowledge Panel Other Than Wikipedia
Wikipedia isn’t Google’s only reliable source. As per research by Strong Digital, close to 20% of knowledge panels now reference sources other than Wikipedia. Better still, the same study noted that there has been a 50% hike in panels that don’t include cited sources.
That’s encouraging news. It shows there are many other sources Google trusts you can leverage to make a strong case for them to include you in a knowledge panel.
Here are 5 other ways of luring Google to give you a knowledge panel.
1. Boost Your Site’s Domain Rating
Having a high DR tells Google you are a trusted voice in your space.
We talked a lot about how to raise your DR earlier, so we won’t hap on it.
Enough said.
2. Categorize Your Content By Schema Markup
Schema markup is a code that you put on your website to help search engines to understand your content better and return more informative results for users.
Top benefits of schema markup include:
- Improves the probability of being included in a knowledge panel because Google draws content from the schema markup.
- Increase click-through rates by 20% and impressions by 35%.
- Helps your brand become more noticeable in search results.
3. Get And Display Lots Of User Reviews
Reviews get Google’s attention fast.
They tell the mighty search engine and the entire world:
- You do amazing work.
- You are worth talking about.
- Your customers adore you.
You are an authentic brand.
Overall, reviews help Google better understand your brand. A smart user reviews strategy creates a positive perception of your brand in Google (and people’s) eyes. With reviews, it’s a case of the more the merrier. Each review you publish pushes you an inch higher on the online authority index.
4. Get featured on top sites
Third-party mentions in authority sites are another avenue to a knowledge panel.
Let’s admit it.
Not all sites are equal.
Some are more trustworthy than others in Google’s and users’ eyes. With hundreds of data sources backing the facts in the knowledge panel, the big question is: which sites does Google rely on for reliable information?
Because Google plays their cards close to their chest, it’s been hard to nail their sources. But deep research and reverse engineering by some organizations are shedding light on the subject.
Brand SERP expert, Jason Bernard publishes a helpful list of all trusted sources cited in Knowledge Panels.
Sources: Kalicube
The long list is dynamic, and for that reason, it’s updated monthly. It includes a wide range of authoritative sites:
- Regular news sites such as Reuters and Globalnewswrire
- Niche sites like Golf.com, Art.com, and Aerospace.com
- Focused news sites like Techcrunch, Geekwire, and Marketwatch
- Social media sites such as LinkedIn and Facebook
- Business review sites, for instance, G2, Yelp, and Better Business Bureau.
Push to get featured on these sites to raise your brand authority and popularity stock.
Also, use them as references for your Wikipedia and Wikidata edits. Since Google Wikipedia already likes them, they are more likely to accept your content if it includes them.
5. Create Valuable Content That Satisfies User Intent
Your content must be good enough to E.A.T.
No, I’m not talking about your favorite meal. I’m referring to Google’s content quality guidelines. They want content that’s shows:
- Expertise: demonstrate your knowledge of the topic engagedly.
- Authority: become so good that your name becomes synonymous with your topic.
- Trustworthiness: become a trusted source of information in your space.
Above all, the content must satisfy the user’s intent. Users must find the answers that they are looking for. Such content boosts your chances of appearing in knowledge panels.
- Show up in many reputable independent entities Google trusts.
- Generate buzz around your brand everywhere you go.
- Deliver a consistent message everywhere until it sticks.
In summary, to appear in the knowledge panel.
Then you would have given Google something to work with. It will tempt them to deem your brand worthy of a knowledge panel to showcase your brand.
Remember, you only get a knowledge panel at Google’s prerogative. So all you can do is to do all you can and hope for the best.
How To Maximize Your Knowledge Panel
Okay, you’ve now claimed your panel, then what?
You should maximize this prime asset. Control the narrative around your brand and squeeze every ounce of value from the panel by:
- Ensuring all the info on the panel is accurate.
- Including books you have written in the space.
- Marketing your upcoming events to customers and prospects.
- Post links to your signature content either, text or video.
- Add all your social channels.
- Change the featured image to suit a current campaign.
- Update your logo if you’ve changed it.
As you can see, a Knowledge Panel gives you full control to manage your brand reputation and lead the conversation about your brand.
