Google Launches Knowledge Graph in All English-Speaking Countries

Back in May, Google launched its much-anticipated 'Knowledge Graph' in the US, and in August it has extended that coverage to all English-speaking countries. The overall goal behind this is to create, in Google co-founder Larry Page's oft-quoted words, "the perfect search engine... [one] that understands exactly what you mean and gives you back exactly what you want."

So what is the Knowledge Graph exactly? According to Google's official blog announcing the roll-out it's a "database of more than 500 million real-world people, places and things with 3.5 billion attributes and connections." Essentially it's the latest step towards a search engine that 'understands'. While in the past Google would just match up your search term with strings of text on its billions of indexed pages, with the Knowledge Graph you can get results based on the actual meaning of the words you enter.

The deeper meaning of search

For example, if you now search for 'Lincoln' in the UK, Google automatically displays useful Wikipedia-like information about the county town of Lincolnshire along the right hand side. But it also allows for the fact that this might not be what you're looking for, so provides the option to see results about Abraham Lincoln, or the biopic film Lincoln.

It also attempts to determine your exact meaning based on your location. Type 'Lincoln' into Google.com and your results will be far more geared towards the 16th US president, as well as luxury cars and SUVs offered by the American car manufacturer Lincoln.

SEO and the Knowledge Graph

In effect, Google is using the information it's gathered to deliver more accurate results to users more quickly. But what does it mean for your SEO strategy?

Early indications are that Knowledge Graph hasn't had a massive impact on search rankings for commercial websites, but it's one to watch as Google's object database expands. Meanwhile, the smart money is on continuing to make your site as relevant to your target users as possible, to ensure that the right people find you on search.

Of course, if the main aim of your site is to provide information then you may have to up your ante a little. If Google has already provided the user with an informative summary of the subject, you're going to have to work harder to provide them something they can't get elsewhere. And for that, great content and usability is a wise place to start.

Source: Knowledge Graph - Google's official blog announcing the roll-out: http://googleblog.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/building-search-engine-of-future-one.html

Jonathan Celeste invites you to join the rest of his clients at the top of the Google mountain with a Search Engine Optimisation campaign from Onit solutions. http://www.onitsolutions.co.uk

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