What people type during a web search aren't merely words. There are reasons and concepts that are being attempted to be formed during the search process. Delving into the human mind to know what actually lies behind search queries is nearly impossible. Funny but sometimes, we do not even know exactly what we're looking for. To help solve this problem and provide a more context into search, Google developed the Knowledge Graph API. Thanks to the Hummingbird update and RankBrain which have made it all possible to achieve.
HOW DOES KNOWLEDGE GRAPH IMPROVE SEARCH RESULTS?
1. Instead of just displaying links, Google now shows relevant information that adds to the user’s search. For example, if you search for Mahatma Gandhi, you will see a card on the right of the results that displaying useful information about Mahatma Gandhi, the Indian activist. The card also shows his popular images, real name, date of birth, death, education and popular quotes. The card also features the books he wrote and books about him with book cover thumbnails. The card also provides links to similar searches made by other people that could be helpful to you. With all these data coming from a ranked list, searchers get more information that was either highly searched by other users or significant about the object of the search. Thus, adding more value to the search.
2. Searchers discover answers to questions they never thought to ask. Search for a person, a place or an object and get a world of information that allows you to expand your research in-depth.
3. The carousel at the top of the SERP gives you a more comprehensive picture of what you're looking for. Explore collections and browse lists that give you more context about a topic.
4. Because any word can mean two things or more, searches are predictively completed in different possible ways.
HOW TO BE FEATURED IN A KNOWLEDGE GRAPH CARD?
There is a long list of content types which may appear in knowledge graph cards, and these include People, Music, Weather, Sports scores, Tweets, Movies, Recipes, Images, Businesses, and Map locations.
Because of the richness of content found in knowledge graph cards, it is for this obvious reason that they stand out in search results. This means that featured pages and links are at a vantage point of getting more targeted traffic back into their site. Thus, what makes them tick is worth looking into.
In his article in Search Engine Land, contributor and owner and founder of Shelley Media Arts LLC, Ryan Shelley illustrated two best practices which may increase your chances of being featured in these graphs and position your site among the top ranks.
SCHEMA MARKUP
Google is a universe of content which it has organised and indexed. So when people search for something, one of its core function is to be able to provide results in a fast and meaningful way. Based on that, Google will first need to understand and fully recognise the data about your content before it can present it. If the data does not meet its criteria of an “organised” and “understandable” data, it is less prioritised in the search results. That is where the importance of schema markup lies.
Schema markup is a common markup language among Google and other search engines so that they can understand a webpage better. If this is the case, using a schema markup will increase your chances of your content being picked by Google in the show in search results! Who wouldn’t want to use it then?
GOOD CONTENT
There is no substitute for good content. However, what matters more is what search engines consider as good content. It’s not at all easy to answer this question. One thing is for sure; Google will always take content for its relevance and base it on the context of search queries. One feature of the knowledge card is that it makes “good content” stand out even if its ranking position in the search results is below that of the knowledge cards. By carefully observing the quality of content that makes it to knowledge cards, site owners can have an understanding of what content Google deems as valuable, relevant and contextual.
Transforming web search from “strings to things” is no ordinary feat that takes search experience to a higher level. Website owners can, however, leverage from this advancement by incorporating sound data structures into their web pages in a way that communicates better with search engines and consequently, relate better with other data on the web. This, of course, stands on the premise that you’ve listened enough to your audience to create content based on what not only appeals to readers or follow good technical SEO practices but ultimately, adds value through meaningful context.
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