There have been lots of changes to Google’s Algorithm over the past few years, with more and more focus being put on user intent. One of the key changes we have seen is the introduction of the knowledge graph. But what is it and how does an SEO Agency Manchester go about getting your brand into it?
What is the Google knowledge graph?
The easiest way to think about the knowledge graph is as a sort of online Encyclopaedia Britannica for machines. It is an essential tool for Google as they base all of their understanding of the meaning behind the word’s users are typing into search for things on it – in fact, it formed the basis for their Hummingbird update in 2013. Therefore, it is essential to our SEO manchester work and helps us to form our SEO strategies for our clients.
How does knowledge graph work?
Put simply the knowledge graph works by working out the relationship between various entities. So, for example, Anna knows Betty, Anna likes Charles, Charles is Betty’s Brother, these things are easy for us to understand as they are based on the way that the human brain works. What do we do when things get more complicated though?
One trick that some people use to remember large lists of things is to spin them into a story. So, let’s say you had a list of 20 random words you had to remember, the easiest way to remember them is to tell a fun story which encapsulates all of those words – joining them together with relationships. ‘A donkey is holding an eel, the eel is attached to a fence by glue, the fence surrounds a house’ and so on.
We are using verbs and nouns in place of entities and relationships.
The latest Google update, BERT, was all about entities and relationships. This update has made it easier for Google to identify subjects, verbs, and objects and from these extract entities, relationship, entity.
So, we have the knowledge graph now – an encyclopaedia which Google uses to understand the world through entities and relationships – and which it is using as the underlying foundation for its ranking system. So, if our SEO strategy for your business is to be successful, your brand has to be in the knowledge graph.
How does information get into the knowledge graph?
The more entities Google has in the knowledge graph the more possibility we have to attach new entities to a relationship with an existing entity in there – making it easier for Google to understand it. The more entities Google can attach to the new entity with relationships, the more sense it will make to them and the more likely they are to remember it. And that is how you get into the knowledge graph in a nutshell!
Find an entity that is already in there and use that as a hook to help Google understand what your brand is about. You need to ensure that Google clearly understands the relationship between your brand and the existing entities that the knowledge graph already knows about.
Step one is to ensure this is done on your own site. So, write a piece of content that clearly explains the relationship and place it on your home page or the about us page. Make sure the content clearly states the type of relationship, the strength of the relationship and how close the relationship is – the closer and stronger it is the better. Schema mark-up can also massively help Google to easily understand the relationship.
The next step is to get corroboration on your relationship from a trusted source. You can do this by adding your entity to a specialist source such as TechCrunch, IMDb, Google Books or whatever source is relevant to your industry.
Step three is to go back to your website and point out the corroboration of your relationship to Google by adding links from the content you have published in step one to the trusted source. If the relationship is mentioned in an article or publication then all the better, as Google is getting really good at extracting entities and relationships from the content. Obviously this is a simplified version of the knowledge graph and how to get your brand on there, but if you really want to succeed online going forward then you need SEO MCR, the leading SEO consultants manchester to help.
