What is a Local Business Knowledge Panel in SEO?
A Local Business Knowledge Panel is a feature that provides key information about your local business directly in Google’s search results. Google generates a Local Business Knowledge Panel and includes details such as your business address, phone number, working hours, website, and customer reviews.
A Local Business Knowledge Panel is not a Google Business Profile. Google Business Profiles appear in the search results when a user searches for businesses within a nearby geographical area. Local Knowledge Panels are not restricted to a geographical area and are essential for businesses that serve customers outside a specific geographic area.
A Local Business Knowledge Panel is a search feature created by Google when it is confident about its understanding of your business. A Google Business Listing is a free listing any business can access if it has a bricks-and-mortar business.
The Local Knowledge Panel is crucial for your business as it enhances your online visibility and credibility, making it easier for potential customers to find and learn about your company.
How to Optimize Your Local Business Knowledge Panel?
To optimize your Local Business Knowledge Panel, follow these steps.
1. Claim and optimize your Google Business Profile. Ensure your business information is accurate and up-to-date. This includes your business name, address, phone number, website, and working hours. You should also select the most appropriate categories for your business and add high-quality images of your logo, interior, and exterior.
Claiming and optimizing the Google Business Profile demonstrates to Google that the Profile is the same as the entity in the Local Knowledge Panel, enhances the information displayed in your Local Business Knowledge Panel, and increases customer perception about the status of your brand.
2. Encourage customer reviews. Encouraging customer reviews is vital because they contribute significantly to the credibility and attractiveness of your business in the eyes of potential customers. Reviews can also influence your local search rankings.
You should actively ask customers to leave reviews on your Google Business Profile listing and respond to them professionally and promptly.
Addressing positive and negative reviews shows that you value customer feedback and are committed to providing excellent service.
3. Use Schema markup on your website. Schema markup is machine-readable code that summarizes the information on your website in a way search engine algorithms are able to read.
By implementing Local Business Schema markup, you provide structured data that can enhance your Local Business Knowledge Panel.
The structured data includes essential details like your business name, address, phone number, opening hours, and reviews. Using Schema markup can improve how search engines understand and display your business information, potentially leading to better visibility in search results. Ensure the data in the schema markup is on your website page.
4. Build strong local citations and backlinks. Building strong local citations and backlinks involves listing your business in relevant local and industry-specific directories with consistent NAP (Name, Address, Phone number) information. Local citations and backlinks help search engines verify your business information, which can improve your local search rankings – and increase Google’s understanding and the likelihood of a Local Business Knowledge Panel.
Ensure your website has consistent NAP in the footer and schema markup.
High-quality backlinks from reputable local websites, such as newspapers, blogs, and community sites, can further enhance your online presence and credibility, positively impacting your Local Business Knowledge Panel.
5. Optimize your website for local SEO. Focusing on a few key strategies and optimizing your website for local SEO is crucial to enhancing your online presence for local searches. Focus on the services the business offers and how it is active in the local community, and talk about the local community on your website. Creating dedicated web pages for each branch or service area of your business helps cater to local audiences’ specific needs and preferences.
Ensuring your website is mobile-responsive is essential, given that many local searches are conducted on mobile devices.
6. Use Google Posts. Regularly sharing updates, promotions, and events using the Google Business Profile keeps your audience engaged and well-informed about your business. Update opening hours for public holidays and actively maintain the Google Business Profile.
What is the difference between Google Business Profile and Local Business Knowledge Panel?
The difference between a Google Business Profile and a Local Business Knowledge Panel is their purpose, control, and scope.
A business may have a Knowledge Panel and Google Business Profile with two separate Knowledge Graph Identifiers called KGMIDs.
The Google Business Profile represents the physical location, while the Knowledge Panel represents broader entity information about the business.
Google Business Profile is specifically designed for business owners to manage their online presence across Google, including Search and Maps. Owners can claim or create this listing to display key information such as the business name, address, phone number, website link, hours of operation, and customer reviews.
The Google Business Profile for Starbucks includes essential information like the address, phone number, website, business hours, reviews, photos, and more. Starbucks actively manages its Google Business Profile to provide accurate information, engage with customers through posts and updates, and showcase promotions or special offers
Local Business Knowledge Panel is generated by Google’s Knowledge Graph, which aims to provide a summary of information about entities such as businesses based on various sources from across the web. Businesses have less direct control over what appears in the Knowledge Panel than their own Google Business Profile.
This panel is generated automatically by Google and is not directly managed by Starbucks, but it’s influenced by the accuracy and consistency of Starbucks’s online information, including its Google Business Profile.
How Does The Local Business Knowledge Panel Fit Into Brand SERP Optimization and Knowledge Panel Management?
A Local Business Knowledge Panel is integral to Brand SERP optimization and Knowledge Panel management for businesses with a physical presence and seeking walk-in customers.
It serves as a digital storefront, providing potential customers with essential information such as location, hours of operation, contact details, and customer reviews. This visibility on the Brand SERP can significantly influence customer perception and decision-making at the Zero Moment of Truth.
For local businesses aiming to grow their Knowledge Panels, consider the following:
- Ensure accurate and complete information in your Google My Business listing.
- Encourage customer reviews and actively manage them.
- Provide consistent NAP (Name, Address, Phone number) across all online platforms.
- Utilize local SEO strategies to improve local search visibility.
- Monitor the performance of your Knowledge Panel regularly.
By focusing on these areas, small local businesses can enhance their Brand SERPs optimization and effectively manage their Knowledge Panels for better online visibility and reputation management.
Kalicube Solutions
- Browse our free resources (hundreds of articles, case studies, and how-to’s to help you optimize your Brand SERP and manage your Knowledge Panel;
- Sign up for the Kalicube Academy, where we offer in-depth video-driven courses, resources, and quizzes that make optimizing your Brand SERP and managing your Knowledge Panel a relatively simple task;
- Opt for the done-for-you Brand SERP and Knowledge Panel solutions where we do the hard work, identify the solutions, and ensure that you achieve your goals and get Google “dancing to your tune”.
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