Knowledge Graph
Definition: The Knowledge Graph is Google's database of entities and the relationships between them, used to power knowledge panels and to help Search understand what queries and pages are about.
Also called: Google Knowledge Graph, knowledge panel
Updated
What it is
Google announced the Knowledge Graph in May 2012 as a way to understand real-world things and the connections between them, rather than matching keywords (Google). Its most visible output is the knowledge panel: the box beside or above results that shows a company’s logo, founding date, social profiles or a person’s biography.
The graph also works out of sight. It helps Google interpret ambiguous queries, connect mentions of the same entity across pages and, increasingly, supply facts to AI-generated answers.
Checking whether you are in it
Google offers a Knowledge Graph Search API that returns entities matching a name, each with a machine ID. If your brand comes back with the right description, Google has an entity for you. If it does not, or returns the wrong company, that is useful to know before you spend effort elsewhere.
If a knowledge panel already exists for you, Google lets the represented person or organization verify themselves and suggest corrections through the panel itself.
What helps an entity get included
There is no application form. Google builds entries from sources it considers reliable. In practice that means:
- Consistent facts across your own site, business profiles and reputable third-party sites.
- Organization or Person structured data that matches what the page shows.
- Coverage in independent sources. Wikipedia and Wikidata are commonly used references, but creating promotional entries about yourself breaks their rules and tends to be reverted.
Our view: treat a knowledge panel as the result of entity SEO, not as a goal in itself. The schema markup validator confirms your markup is readable.