Google has continued to expand the presence of its Knowledge Graph results and is now a common element in most search results. The Knowledge Graph is, of course, an organic search element and is closely tied to related elements such as featured snippets and rich results. It is now a common SEO practice to attempt to gain and optimize a Knowledge Graph result.
A new feature that Google has added to its Knowledge Graph is allowing entities to claim their Knowledge Graph panel to become the authoritative owners and editors of the results within the panel. You may wonder why would Google offer this feature? Well, the answer is Google doesn’t always get things right and incorrect information can appear in Knowledge Graph results. This is a common issue in the era of fake news that we live in. Having control of your Knowledge Graph panel will ensure you can make the respective edits needed.
Here is what Google has outlined as the benefits of claiming the knowledge panel.
“Put your best face forward. Make sure your audience sees the most accurate, authoritative, and engaging information about you. You can suggest changes to info that shows up on Search, including images, stats, or other facts.”
Here is an example of the element which displays that the Knowledge Graph Panel is not claimed. It appears at the bottom left panels that are not claimed.
Many brands and companies have not taken advantage of this feature and this element sticks out like a sore thumb in their SERPs. Here are two examples.
Claiming your Knowledge Graph panel
Here is a step by step guide on how to claim your Knowledge Graph.
- Click the “Claim this knowledge panel” button at the bottom of your Knowledge Graph panel. This will take you to a Google Verification page. You will notice in the URL for the page has your custom MID (machine-generated identifier) number which is specific to you as an entity. https://posts.google.com/claim/?mid=%2Fm%2F01d8pr
- Click the “Get Verified” button. You will then be taken to a page with a list of options to verify you’re the entity. From there you will have to select one option and sign in to complete the verification.
Options will typically include YouTube, Twitter and Google Search Console.
Once you complete the verification the “Claim your knowledge panel” button will disappear from below your Google Knowledge Graph panel. You will now have authoritative editing power on your panel where you can suggest changes. If you have wrong info appearing in your panel, you now have the ability to update it.
Here is what the editing of the Knowledge Graph panel looks like if you’re logged into your Google Search Console account.
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About The Author
Tony Edward is a director of SEO at Tinuiti and an adjunct instructor of search marketing at NYU. Tony has been in the online marketing industry for over 10 years. His background stems from affiliate marketing and he has experience in paid search, social media and video marketing. Tony is also the founder of the Thinking Crypto YouTube channel.