Introduction
The previous installment covered how to rank in local search by claiming your Google Business profile. Claiming your Google Business profile is one way to increase your visibility across Google. In this installment, we will cover another way to increase your visibility across Google: by claiming your Google knowledge panel.
Why Should I Care About Increasing Visibility?
Did you know the space on the Google search engine results page constantly changes? In the early days of Google, search results pages (SERPs) were simpler. You would search for a query, and Google would serve a list of links to different websites, or “organic listings.” Now the SERPs are filled with a multitude of different features, which often appear to users before or within organic results. What this means for businesses is that the value of increasing visibility across different SERP features has increased over time, as opposed to focusing exclusively on appearing in organic listings.
What is a Knowledge Panel, and Why Should You Claim Yours?
A knowledge panel is a SERP feature that appears on the right side of the organic listings when a user searches for a person, place, organization, or thing. Think of it as Google’s summary of your organization.
When Google creates a knowledge panel for a brand, it pulls together information from the brand’s website and around the web. When you claim your knowledge panel, you are essentially speaking directly to Google and acknowledging the existence of your brand to them. In other words, you are establishing brand awareness with Google. Right now, the internet is oversaturated with content. Due to the ease of content creation, anyone can create content and post it on the internet, which is why making your brand visible to Google is increasingly becoming more important as time goes on. Google is more likely to recommend content from a trusted brand than from a random website.
The presence of a Google knowledge panel also heavily influences whether a brand’s content appears in other SERP features. So, you can think of claiming your knowledge panel as having a “domino effect” on your visibility in other Google SERP features.
When you claim your knowledge panel, you also have the opportunity to differentiate yourself from competitors by showcasing programs, achievements, and great reviews from students.
How to Claim Knowledge Panel
Ready to get verified? You can follow Google’s guide to claiming your knowledge panel.
Conclusion
Now, you should be able to claim your knowledge panel and be one step closer to increasing your visibility across Google.
The next installment will wrap up all SEO topics covered in 2023 and suggest action items from each one.
If you have questions in the meantime, please reach out by contacting your Account Manager.