In 2012, Google introduced the Google Knowledge Panels. Here’s why that matters and what it means for your business.
- What is Google Knowledge Panel?
- Why Does Google Knowledge Panel Matter?
- Different Types of Google Knowledge Panels
- How Can I Appear on the Google Knowledge Panel?
- How to Claim and Edit Your Google Knowledge Panel
- Be Found Online with BirdEye
What is Google Knowledge Panel?
You’ve probably seen the local knowledge panel before but just didn’t know what to call it. The local knowledge panel is the section that shows up on the right of your screen when you’re making Google searches on desktop. On mobile, the Knowledge Panel will show up high between other search results.
The local knowledge panel is meant to give more information on the topic you’re searching for. For celebrities, a knowledge panel might give you a short bio and some fun facts like their birthday and height.
For local businesses, the knowledge panel shows searchers the information they need to actually pay the business a visit. That’s information like your review rating, address, and hours of operation.
Why Does the Knowledge Panel Matter?
The knowledge panel matters for businesses for a very simple reason: it’s visible. The information that’s on the knowledge panel is one of the first things that your customers see on the desktop.
Remember, this first impression is huge for attracting new customers. If they see something like a low overall star rating, chances are that they’ll go back to the search bar and type in a competitors’ name instead.
Different Types of Google Knowledge Panels
Here are some of the different local knowledge panels that you’ll see.
Local Knowledge Panels
Local knowledge panels display information about nearby businesses.
Most of the time, Google will pull the information on the Knowledge panel from your Google My Business profile. Make sure that you’ve claimed your Google My Business profile and updated it with relevant information. Here’s a step-by-step guide to claiming your Google My Business profile.
Branded Google Knowledge Panels
Bigger companies might have branded knowledge panels. Instead of showing information about a local branch, these branded panels show information about the company as a whole.
For bigger brands, the first step is to set up a Wikipedia article. While Google has never confirmed this, you can see that almost all Branded Knowledge Panels pull information from the business’s Wikipedia page.
Personal Google Knowledge Panels
Celebrities and public figures might get their own personal knowledge panel.
It’s not exactly clear how Google determines whether a person is worthy of a knowledge panel or not. People with Wikipedia pages often have these personal knowledge panels.
How Can My Business Appear on the Google Knowledge Panel?
Google uses three factors to determine whether a searcher sees a knowledge panel: relevance, distance, and prominence. These are the same factors that Google uses for local search results.
Relevance refers to whether your business relates to the query the customer is searching for, distance refers to your proximity to the customer, while prominence relates to your brand’s authority. While there’s not much you can do about the first two factors, there are ways that you can improve your business’s prominence. Make sure that you’re collecting authentic reviews from your customers and that your business listing information is consistent all across the Internet.
How to Claim and Edit Your Panel
Here’s how you can claim your Google local knowledge panel.
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Login to your Google Account.
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Search for your business and find your knowledge panel.
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Click on “Claim this knowledge panel”.
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Sign in to one of your business’s profiles to verify that you’re actually a representative of your business. Here are the sites you can use to do this:
YouTube
Search Console
Twitter
Facebook
Once you’ve been verified as an official business, here’s how you can edit the information on your knowledge panel.
- Sign in to the Google Account linked to your knowledge panel.
- Search for your business on Google and find the relevant knowledge panel.
- At the top of the knowledge panel, click Suggest an edit (or Suggest edits on mobile)
- Click the information that you want to change. If you want to make multiple changes, you’ll have to submit feedback for each change separately.
- In the response box that opens, write a short description that tells Google what you want to change, the reasons why you want this change to be made, and some URLs that can help to confirm this information.
- Click Send.
Google won’t accept your suggestions immediately. The suggestions that you provide will be checked with publically-available information on the Internet so that it’s verified.
How BirdEye Can Help Your Business
Your knowledge panel matters. BirdEye can help make sure that you make a great impression on prospective customers that search for your business with our free business profiles.
Your free BirdEye business profile aggregates reviews from all over the Internet. Since Google values customer reviews, these profiles often rank high in search results. Click here to find and claim your BirdEye profile.
You can often see the data from your BirdEye profile in the Google knowledge panel. Because BirdEye is a preferred Google Partner, BirdEye review results can show in the local knowledge panel. Immediately, you can show your prospective customers your aggregated review rating from sites all across the Internet.
Be Found Online with BirdEye
Don’t let the first thing potential customers see be a bad online reputation. With BirdEye, you can collect authentic reviews, monitor and respond to reviews on 150+ sites, and share your reviews across the Internet. The next time someone searches your business, make sure that they turn into a customer.
