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Local search and SEO

Knowledge panel

Google knowledge panel / Knowledge Graph / claim a knowledge panel

In short

A knowledge panel is the box of facts Google shows beside search results about a person, organization or thing. Google builds it automatically when enough information exists on the open web, so nobody can buy or request one, and businesses get a separate Business Profile panel instead.

Google's help pages are direct about where panels come from. Knowledge panels are created automatically by Google's search algorithm when there is enough information available on the open web. Whether one appears for a given search is automatic too, and Google says that is not something it can or would influence.

The subject can claim some panels. A person, or an official representative of an organization, can claim its panel and then suggest changes, though Google says not all knowledge panels are claimable yet. It reviews feedback from verified users within a few days.

Claiming gives less control than people expect. Google does not accept custom subtitles, cannot add an image to a panel that has none, and says descriptions come from various data sources and cannot be edited.

Businesses sit on a different track. Google says businesses have special Business Profile panels and should use Business Profile to create, claim and suggest changes to them.

In practice

A regional law firm is offered a package that promises a Google knowledge panel within 60 days. Google's help page says panels are created automatically when enough information exists on the open web, and that when one shows is not something Google can or would influence. The panel the firm can actually manage is its Business Profile.

Not the same as

Google Business Profile
A Business Profile is created and managed by the business itself. A knowledge panel is generated automatically, and a verified representative can only suggest changes to it.

Why it matters to you

Money spent on a promised knowledge panel pays for something Google says it grants on its own. What a business controls is its Business Profile, and for a claimed panel, suggestions backed by public web pages.

What to ask or check

  1. 01Is the panel under discussion a knowledge panel or the Business Profile panel?
  2. 02If a vendor promises a knowledge panel, what exactly will they do, given Google builds panels automatically?
  3. 03Has anyone claimed the panel, and which Google Account holds that verification?

What people get wrong

That a knowledge panel can be bought or requested. Google says panels are created automatically when enough information is available on the open web, and that when one appears is not something it can or would influence.

Red flags

  • A service that guarantees a Google knowledge panel.

Keep reading

Google Business Profile

A Google Business Profile is the free listing that puts your business in Google Maps and in the local results beside search. Google's rule for qualifying is narrower than most people expect: the business must make in-person contact with customers during its stated hours, so online only businesses do not qualify.

Structured data

Structured data is markup that describes your page in a shared vocabulary, founded by Google, Microsoft, Yahoo and Yandex. Google is explicit about the limit: using it enables a feature to be present and does not guarantee that it will be present, even when the markup is correct.

Local SEO

Local SEO is the work of showing up when somebody nearby searches for what you sell. Google names three factors: relevance, distance and prominence. Distance is the one you cannot change, and Google states plainly that there is no way to request or pay for a better local ranking.

AI Overviews

An AI Overview is the summary Google sometimes places above the results, with links to sources. Google says they are only shown when its systems judge them additive to classic Search, so they often do not trigger. There is no special file or markup that gets you into them.

Scaled content abuse

Scaled content abuse is Google's name for generating many pages mainly to manipulate rankings rather than help people. Its definition says this applies no matter how the content is created, so using AI is not itself the violation. Google states it focuses on the quality of content rather than how it was produced.

Review snippet

A review snippet is the star rating Google can show beside a search result, drawn from structured data on the page. Local businesses cannot get one from reviews about themselves. Google says pages where the reviewed entity controls the reviews, including embedded review widgets, are ineligible.

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