The Knowledge Panel Course: How to Claim a Knowledge Panel
Script from the lesson The Knowledge Panel Course
Jason Barnard speaking: How to Claim a Knowledge Panel (and When You Shouldn’t)
Jason Barnard speaking: Hi and welcome. Why should you claim your Knowledge Panel? Firstly, because it prevents anyone else from claiming it. Secondly, it allows you to ask humans at Google to make changes and add information. Rather than the usual feedback option, you have a suggest edits option. The possibilities are the same, however your suggested edits go right to the front of the queue. They give you priority, and you have more authority in the eyes of the editors, and you are much more likely to have your suggestions accepted.
Jason Barnard speaking: Now, how to claim a Knowledge Panel depends on several factors, but also whether or not the Knowledge Panel is claimable depends on the vertical it comes from. You can only claim the Knowledge Panel if you are the entity itself, a person, you own the entity, companies or books, or you officially represent the entity, companies, films, a person’s agent, and so on and so forth.
Jason Barnard speaking: If you see Claim This Knowledge Panel button, then it is claimable. It sounds obvious, I know. But if there is no Claim This Knowledge Panel option, then either it has already been claimed or it is not claimable by anyone. Here are some reasons a Knowledge Panel may not be claimable. If it was triggered by Google Books, Google Podcasts, or another closed Google-owned property, it isn’t claimable. If it is a sprout, if it has very little information in it, perhaps just a photo and a name, it won’t be claimable. If it is part of the Web Index vertical, those are not claimable either.
Jason Barnard speaking: There are several processes for claiming a claimable Knowledge Panel. The first is the manual system. Google has a very long form where you need to provide a photo of your passport, a photo of yourself holding your passport, and screenshots of you logged into the entity’s official social media accounts. If you are claiming a Knowledge Panel where you represent it as an agent or employee, then you’ll need to also prove that you are the official representative. All of that makes the process long and difficult. And because on Google’s side this is a human process, it can be unpredictable.
Jason Barnard speaking: Another process is through Search Console. If Google’s algorithms have established which site represents the entity, then if you manage that property in Google Search Console, you can claim the Knowledge Panel automatically, immediately, and with no human interaction with Google, and no form to fill in. If Google’s algorithms have established which Twitter, Facebook, or YouTube account represents the entity, then you can claim the Knowledge Panel by logging into that account automatically, immediately, and once again, with no human interaction with Google.
Jason Barnard speaking: Sometimes you’ll get a Knowledge Panel and it will be claimable, but then I would suggest you do not claim unless you can do so automatically through Search Console or a social account. If a Knowledge Panel has obviously been triggered purely by unreliable or paid-for sources such as WikiEverybody, Wikitia, and some others, then the human who checks your request will probably simply delete it. This is because they want to give corrective information to the machine so that it learns to understand which types of sources it should not trust.
Jason Barnard speaking: I would also advise against claiming a Knowledge Panel if there is very little information in it. Google’s aim is to bring value to the user. And a small Knowledge Panel with just a name, a subtitle, and a photo doesn’t bring any information that the searcher doesn’t already know. The purpose of a Knowledge Panel is to provide a summary of the entity to allow Google’s users to understand more about the entity without clicking on multiple results. With that perspective, a small Knowledge Panel with no information in it that is not already in the left rail makes no sense, so a human at Google will probably delete it.
Jason Barnard speaking: In both these cases, it is best to make it richer and ensure multiple sources are contributing, and/or get the Entity Home or social media profiles recognised by the algorithms, so you can claim it directly. How? Ironically, Kalicube’s 3 step process is the best, safest, and most reliable way to get Google to recognise the Entity Home, social profiles, and include additional information in the Knowledge Panel.
Jason Barnard speaking: As you can now see, the Entity Home is key at every single step of managing the Knowledge Panel. At Kalicube, we always focus on the Entity Home for our clients since it allows us to claim the panel, to push accurate information into the Knowledge Graph, and to build its confidence over time. In short, the Entity Home is as close to control as you will ever get.
Jason Barnard speaking: Now, if you see this world icon with your domain name, that is the Entity Home Google has chosen. That means you can definitely claim through Google Search Console. But if you don’t see the world icon and your domain name in the Knowledge Panel, click on Claim This Knowledge Panel anyway and see what happens, since Google may have recognised the domain and has chosen not to show it in the Knowledge Panel or Google may provide the option of claiming through Twitter, Facebook, or YouTube.
Jason Barnard speaking: The last point, what can you do if someone else has claimed your Knowledge Panel? You’ll need to contact Google directly. Look in the additional materials for this lesson, and you’ll find a link to that form and also a detailed information about managing your Knowledge Panel once you have claimed it.
Jason Barnard speaking: Thank you very much, and I’ll see you soon.
