The Knowledge Graph is an advanced technology that organizes information in a structured and networked way. It is used to improve the understanding of relationships between entities (people, places, organizations, concepts) and thus create a semantic layer of knowledge. Originally published in May 2012 by Google this knowledge database has become a central element of the modern Search engine technology to answer search queries more precisely and informatively.
Structure and mode of operation
A knowledge graph is conceptually structured as a network consisting of nodes and edges. The nodes represent the entities, while the edges define the relationships and attributes between these entities. Take, for example, the entity „Albert Einstein“; attributes could be „Date of birth: March 14, 1879“ and „Profession: Physicist“. A relationship would be „has developed: Theory of relativity“, where „Theory of relativity“ is another entity.
The information for a knowledge graph comes from a variety of sources, including public databases such as Wikipedia and Wikidata, licensed data and Structured data and unstructured data from the entire web. Google also uses its own internal databases. Continuous maintenance and updating is carried out using automated data feeds and manual checks.
Importance for SEO and user experience
For users, the Knowledge Graph significantly improves the search experience by displaying relevant information directly in the search results. Search results often in so-called knowledge panels. This enables the user to obtain answers to specific questions (e.g. „How old is [person]?“) immediately without having to visit other websites.
From SEO-perspective, the Knowledge Graph is not a direct Ranking factor, but significantly influences the Visibility and presentation in the SERPs (Search Engine Result Pages). Companies can optimize their presence in the Knowledge Graph in order to:
- To increase the visibility and reach of the brand.
- Improve the click-through rate (CTR) through rich results and knowledge panels.
- To strengthen the trust and authority of your own brand.
- To provide precise and comprehensive information about the company directly in the search results.
A central strategy for interacting with the knowledge graph is the implementation of structured data (e.g. Schema.org markup) on your own website. This machine-readable information helps search engines to better understand the content and entities of a website and to integrate it into their own knowledge graph.
