Search for any well-known brand and you’re likely to see a ‘Google Knowledge Panel’ on the right hand of the search results page. This panel can contain a variety of information including but not limited to background information, images, social media channels and location details. Where does this information come from and how do you get it for your brand? We investigate the value of Google Knowledge Panels and how finance brands can make the most of them.
Why finance brands should care about Google Knowledge Panels
A Knowledge Panel can serve multiple uses for financial brands. The panel is a vital piece of real estate for a brand name search – a key opportunity at the pointy end of the marketing funnel. We also know that zero-click searches are on the rise and users may not always click through to a landing page. Ensuring your brand’s Google Knowledge Panel is present and up-to-date contributes to an improved online presence, greater authority and consumer engagement. This Nerdwallet panel is a great example of the vast amount of information that can be included for a single brand.
Unlike the featured snippet – which appears in the main search results on the left-hand side of the page – the Knowledge Panel doesn’t aim to answer a user’s non-branded question. Rather it shows on searches for specific brands/companies; making it more of a brand marketing tool than a lead generation tool.
“ Ensuring your brand’s Knowledge Panel is present and up-to-date contributes to an improved online presence, greater authority and consumer engagement. ”
How can finance brands get a Knowledge Panel?
There are two types of Knowledge Panels: local and brand. The local version is connected to your Google My Business account. A physical business can create their local panel through their GMB account and add relevant details such as location and opening hours directly into their listing. While it’s not possible to guarantee that Google will show this local panel, this is a simple but critical step for any financial brand with a local address.
A brand Knowledge Panel can’t be created; it’s shown automatically if Google feels there’s enough relevant information pertaining to your brand. You can check if your brand does have a Knowledge Panel and verify it by ‘claiming’ it at the bottom of the panel. Once verified you can ‘suggest’ edits to your panel although these aren’t guaranteed.
What can finance brands do to improve their Knowledge Panels?
All of the information that you see in the Knowledge Panel panel including both text and images are powered by Google’s Knowledge Graph. This was launched back in 2012 as a way to not only categorise entities on the internet but also understand the relationship between them. While it’s not possible to directly influence the panel, brands can have indirect influence by reviewing what information they are making available to Google and the Knowledge Graph and how easy it is to understand.
- Take a look at what the Knowledge Graph already knows about your brand
Use tools like Kalicube or the Knowledge Graph Search API to better understand what information about your brand is already in the Knowledge Graph. - Talk to your developers
Google depends on schema markup to understand what topics your brand relates to so it’s critical that your site’s content is correctly marked up. Simple updates could include adding all of your social media channels, clear markup of your ‘organisation’ and ensuring all of your markups are regularly validated using tools like the Structured Data Testing Tool. - Consider Wikidata and Wikipedia
Google heavily relies on these data sources and while not necessarily easy to gain, pages on these sites have a huge impact on your visibility with the Knowledge Graph so it’s worth investigating.
Like many of Google’s features, Knowledge Panels aren’t black and white, but they can have huge benefits for your brand’s online presence. Optimising your brand’s content for the Knowledge Graph may take some time and effort but it will not only benefit your Knowledge Panel but also your SEO visibility as a whole. At The Dubs we specialise in technical and on-page SEO, get in touch.
