What is a Knowledge Panel?
Knowledge panels appear during Google searches on both desktop and mobile. They are information boxes that appear when you search for people, places, organizations, or things. Knowledge Panels provide a general overview of information about whatever keywords triggered the result. On mobile, they are literally the first thing someone sees when they search you. On desktop, Knowledge Panels are located to the right of the main search results.
On desktop, search results are on the left, knowledge panel is on the right. For this tutorial on how to claim a knowledge panel, you must use desktop and not mobile.
This is my Knowledge Panel:
Locate Your Knowledge Panel
Many times, you’ll be able to find it by just searching your name. Other times, you might have to add additional keywords if other people or companies have the same name as you. For example: if you are an author, type “John Doe Author” into Google and check if your knowlege panel comes up that way. If you try a myriad of keyword combinations with your name and no knowledge panel arises, you may not be part of Google’s Knowledge Graph yet.
How to Claim a Knowledge Panel
You’ll be tempted to click “Claim this knowledge panel” – Don’t! There is something you should do first.
Step 1: Locate the Knowledge Panel Direct Link
Click the share icon in the upper right of the knowledge panel. This will make a box appear that contains the direct link to the knowledge panel itself. Copy this link and close the box.
Step 2: Locate the “Get Verified” Form
Now click “Claim this knowledge panel”. Then on the landing page where that brings you, click “Get Verified” This will bring you to a form you need to fill out.
Step 3: Verify Gmail Address is Correct
Make sure the gmail address you are signed in with is the one you want associated with your knowledge panel. You’ll see it in two places at the top of the page.
Then select “I am a person with a knowledge panel” (if that applies to you).
Step 4: Paste the Knowledge Panel Link From Step 1
In the box “Which Knowledge Panel Would You Like to Claim”, right click your mouse and paste the URL that you copied a moment ago.
Step 5: Personal Information
Scroll down to the Google form and fill out the rest of the questions including full legal name, why you want the knowledge panel, country you’re from, language you speak, etc.
Step 6: Identify Site Profiles and Gather URLs
For the site profiles section, you will need to take screenshots of your browser logged in to the social networks and websites that you control that also appear as search results in the knowledge panel.
Go back to the search results that were located to the left of your knowledge panel. Pick at least three websites that you can log-in to from this list. In this example, It could be Karen’s official website, Facebook, and Goodreads.
You will need to copy the URL associated with the search result by visiting the page. In this example, Karen could click on her Website, Facebook, and Goodreads (Without being logged in! Being logged in might change the URL and you want the URL to be the same as it shows up in the google search).
Each of these URLs will go in the “Site Profiles” “Profile URL” section of the verification form.
Highlight the URL and right click with your mouse to copy it.
Then go back to Google’s Form and paste it in the box.
Karen’s form would look like this: (First is her website, then Facebook, then Goodreads)
Step 7: Take The Screenshots
For this next part, if you don’t know how to take a screenshot, here are directions for both MAC and PC.
- How to Take a screenshot on Windows
To capture the whole screen, press the PrtScn button.
To capture just the selected/active window, press Alt+PrtScn. - How Take a Screenshot on Mac:
Press Command+Shift+3 to capture the whole screen
Press Command+Shift+4 to capture part of the screen by dragging your mouse to select the area you want to capture
Now, sign-in to the websites you control.
IMPORTANT:
The Screenshot has to demonstrate 3 things:
- Your name is the same as in the knowledge panel
- You are logged in
- You control the URL that showed up in the search results.
So, for Facebook (for example) Karen might want to log-in then go to the “pages” area to show that she can edit her own Author Facebook page. For Goodreads, it can be shown as in the example below: Note how you can see both my name and the fact that I am logged in.
Once you take the screenshot, go back to the Google Get Verified Form and upload the screenshot that corresponds to the Profile URL you entered.
Repeat the process with at least three websites from the search results
Step 8: Identification
You will need to take a selfie while holding a government issued ID. Make sure that your face and ID are clearly in the photo. Upload it and Click Submit.
Step 9: While You Wait
While you are waiting for Google to Approve your access to your knowledge panel, read Karen Neary Smithson‘s thrilling mystery novel Death in Disguise! Here’s a link to it on Amazon: Death in Disguise
Take a look at the book trailer here:
Thank you for reading my blog! Please follow me on Twitter @CandiceJarrett
Step 10: Share the Love!
Share this article with other author friends who might not have claimed their knowledge panels yet! Let’s work together to help one another and lift each other up!