Google’s Knowledge Panel offers a whole lot of information on people and movies among other subjects — or your business. Does your business have one of the panels for customers find?
The feature essentially offers an overview of information related to a particular topic, while pointing towards additional links. Knowledge panels are the aggregated blocks of content that pop up to the right of main search on certain topics. But these knowledge panels are also among the features listed on MozCast as important in getting a high ranking on Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL) searches for your site.
What is a Google Knowledge Panel?
When you search for a business — or other topic — on Google, you may see information regarding your search topic in a box that appears on the right side of the search results. The box is referred to as a knowledge panel and is instrumental in helping customers to discover and reach your business.
The sample above, for instance, not only shows the New York-based Third Rail Coffee shop directions but goes ahead to offer customers more information on the business, including the website, directions, working hours and more.
Besides this specialized panel, or what you might call a local knowledge panel, Google also offers a broader knowledge panel that suggests businesses or amenities that are in the neighborhood. For instance, a quick search for “best small coffee shop business in New York” quickly brings up a couple of coffee shops in the area.
If you notice, unlike the local knowledge panel that offers more specialized information regarding the business, a wider search for small coffee shops around New York brings up a couple of listings with their reviews. Customers can read more about a business by clicking on them.
How Does Your Business Get a Google Knowledge Panel?
As in search results, whether or not your business is shown in a Google Knowledge Panel depends on a number of things, including distance, relevance and your business prominence.
In other words, Google uses an algorithm to determine whether or not a customer will be interested in your business. If the algorithm says that your business offers the best relevance according to the customer’s search then your business will appear on a knowledge panel.
In one of its support pages, Google says that verifying your business does not guarantee that it will appear in a knowledge panel. And while verifying your business is important, it’s probably best to concentrate on offering your customers the best service.
Knowledge Panels are powered by information on the Google Knowledge Graph.
Conclusion
While appearing on a Google Knowledge Panel can be beneficial to your business, you need to make sure that the information that Google displays on your business is accurate too. Incorrect information can lead to a bad user experience that might see you lose customers.
The best way to have some form of control over the displayed information is to have a verified Google My Business profile. Apparently Google often draws from this source and others when assembling the information for its knowledge panels.
Image: Google
This article, “What is a Google Knowledge Panel and How Can It Benefit Your Business?” was first published on Small Business Trends