Knowledge Panels are the boxes you see in the search results (SERPs) that give an overview of information about the featured entity, along with links to other authoritative sources about it. Google has recently been inviting more people and organisations to claim their Knowledge Panels.
People, organisations, events, media and even sports teams are all eligible to claim and edit their Knowledge Panel. To find out if you have a Knowledge Panel, you need to search for the name of the entity (e.g. your organisation's name) and see if one appears for you. Then, just click on the prompt below the Knowledge Panel, “Do you manage the online presence for...” and follow the verification steps.
It’s really easy to do, but why bother? Well, Google uses a variety of sources to compile the information for these Panels but it doesn’t always get it right, and there’s probably a lot of information missing that you’d love to have appearing in this prominent position in the SERPs.
A 2017 Moz study found that Google searches resulting in no click was as high as 40%. That means that in 40% of Google searches users are either re-searching or trusting the information that pulls straight through to the SERPs. If users are searching for a particular entity, it would be a reasonable assumption to make that searchers will trust and favour information in the Knowledge Panel.
The information that can appear in the Knowledge Panel about an entity can include the featured image and category specific data, such as a person’s birthday or a film’s length. Information that can’t be amended by the Knowledge Panel owner includes:
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The Wikipedia snippet
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The subtitle
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Any images other than the featured image
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The “people also search for" section (so no getting rid of your competitors I'm afraid)
Once you’ve suggested your changes, Google still needs to confirm their accuracy before publishing them. You may be prompted to provide supporting documentation in the form of a publicly accessible web page. This might all sound like a bit of a hassle to make some small changes, but as anyone who has had to get a Google My Business listing changed will likely testify, it seems like a breeze in comparison!
So, I encourage you all to check if you have a Knowledge Panel and to make sure you claim it if you do.
