Google is upgrading their Knowledge Graph cards by adding more tabs for certain searches in mobile search. This change will first impact movie updates and later will impact both movies and books.
For those who don’t know what the Knowledge Graph is exactly, it is technology that was launched back in 2012 as a way to give additional information to the user regarding their search query, directly on the search result pages.
The Knowledge Graph was designed to give users popular facts about people, places and things in addition to Google’s traditional results. The Knowledge Graph technology enabled Google to move towards a new type of search result. Now, their new way of searching could not only result in links but could match search terms to related concepts.
The latest updates to Knowledge Graph cards are for movies. They allow the user to better understand the title they are interested in learning about.
The new tabs include the original tabs plus the following additions: Search, Top Stories, Trailers & Clips, and Similar Movies.
A user can now simply scroll down to the Knowledge Graph card information and will experience the tabs snapping to the screen.
While news of the tabs was exciting, many questions remained regarding the specifics of the change. While Google’s tweet made it seem like the update was now effective, that was apparently not the case as some people could not see the update.
Other questions focused on which other categories would eventually be affected by these updates. As the initial mention focuses on movies, books, and stock cards, users wondered if other categories will ever see these same changes.
Another big concern surrounds the potential impact on website traffic. Now that Google is making it easier to find the answer to a question without going to another website, will some affected websites experience decreased traffic?
The answer to this question is somewhat known: the Knowledge Graph does impact traffic (it decreased Wikipedia’s traffic by 21%). However, business owners can’t really impact if their information is being used by Google in these graphs. Businesses should recognize that by Google “scraping” their information, they are really just getting another vote of confidence in regards to their quality content.
For more answers regarding the future of Knowledge Graphs, SEOs and marketers will just have to wait and see what happens.
Looking to better understand how this update will impact your brand? Reach out to Hall Analysis today.
screenshot was taken September 2017
