Building a strong online presence is more important than ever.
Your patients and colleagues are searching for you online, and having a Google Knowledge Panel can significantly boost your credibility. But what exactly is a Google Knowledge Panel, and how can healthcare professionals leverage it to enhance their personal and facility branding?
Let’s break it down step by step.
A Google Knowledge Panel is that information box you often see on the right-hand side of search results. It summarizes key facts about a person, business, or organization—think of it as a digital CV, but with a far-reaching impact on your online reputation.
According to Jason Barnard, a leading expert in digital marketing, "The Knowledge Graph is a machine-readable encyclopedia... It’s incredibly practical for SEO and digital marketing." Having a Knowledge Panel makes you more discoverable and instantly adds authority to your name or brand. For healthcare professionals, this is critical in building patient trust and professional reputation.
So, how do you get one?
The first and most crucial step to securing a Google Knowledge Panel is consistency. Your name, title, credentials, and even your practice details need to be uniform across all online platforms.
Action Step: Audit your online presence. Is your name spelled the same on LinkedIn, your website, and directories like Healthgrades? Ensure every platform has the same accurate information. As Barnard puts it, “If you clean up your digital ecosystem, Google will understand... It’s as simple as that.”
Google uses trusted websites to verify your credibility. High-authority backlinks from well-established platforms like WikiData or Crunchbase can boost your online profile significantly.
Action Step: Get listed on Crunchbase or WikiData, and reach out to relevant healthcare sites that can feature your work or profile.
Becoming an author isn’t just a professional achievement—it’s also a powerful personal branding tool. Publishing a book or eBook on Amazon gives you an “author link,” which can signal to Google that you’re an expert worth showcasing.
Action Step: Write a book related to your specialty in healthcare and publish it on Amazon. You can even use tools like ChatGPT to streamline the process.
WikiData plays a vital role in supplying data to Google’s Knowledge Graph, helping the search engine verify and display accurate information about individuals and organizations. By creating and maintaining a WikiData profile, you increase your chances of being recognized by Google as a credible source, which boosts your online presence and enhances your chances of securing a Knowledge Panel.
Action Step: Create a WikiData profile and ensure your professional details are accurate and consistent.
Schema markup is a type of structured data that you can add to your website’s code to help search engines like Google better understand your content. For healthcare professionals and facilities, this can be especially useful for linking your digital presence across various platforms and boosting your chances of getting a Google Knowledge Panel.
By adding the right schema, you signal to Google exactly who you are and what you do. Here are a few types of schema that healthcare providers and facilities should consider:
By implementing the correct schema markup, you not only make your website more understandable for Google but also tie together all your digital touchpoints—like social media, published works, and professional profiles—creating a cohesive online presence. This not only strengthens your digital footprint but also enhances your Knowledge Panel visibility, positioning you or your facility as a trusted authority in healthcare.
Action Step: Work with your web developer to implement person, organization, or medical organization schema on your site, ensuring that all relevant information is accurately represented. This simple step can make a significant difference in your online visibility.
Press releases are not just for news—they help you build backlinks and improve your online presence. Distributing SEO-optimized press releases can enhance your credibility.
Action Step: Write and distribute press releases for any major professional milestone—whether it’s a new clinic opening, a published study, or an award you’ve won. Make sure these releases are SEO-optimized with targeted keywords to get maximum traction.
Being involved in media projects, such as documentaries or educational videos, can enhance your online profile. By securing an IMDb producer credit, you improve your chances of appearing in Google's Knowledge Graph and ultimately gaining a Knowledge Panel.
Action Step: If you've contributed to a film or video project, ensure your role is listed on IMDb. Stewart Vickers, an expert in SEO strategies, emphasizes that having an IMDb executive producer credit can be a powerful tool in boosting your visibility and securing a Knowledge Panel.
It takes time for Google to update its Knowledge Graph and display your Knowledge Panel. This process could take 2-6 months, so be patient.
Action Step: Continue building a strong, consistent digital presence while you wait. Use tools like Google Alerts to monitor mentions of your name or brand, ensuring everything is accurate.
Once your Knowledge Panel goes live, it's important to assess how well it’s supporting your online presence. One effective way to do this is by reviewing your Brand SERP (the search results for your name or business). Your Brand SERP gives you valuable insight into how Google interprets your digital presence. If certain details are missing or incorrect, it highlights areas where your online information may need refinement.
Action Step: Periodically search your name on Google and examine what appears. Are any key details missing or inaccurate? Use this as an opportunity to fine-tune your online profiles and ensure consistency across platforms.
In healthcare, staying up-to-date is crucial—not only with medical advancements but also with the digital tools that shape how patients find and trust you.
Google’s Knowledge Graph, which powers features like the Knowledge Panel, is constantly evolving. Its growth means that the sooner you’re included, the better positioned you’ll be to stand out.
If you don’t actively manage your online presence, you risk becoming less visible as your competitors strengthen theirs.
Action Step: Regularly review your online profiles and content to ensure they’re up-to-date. Continue publishing articles, research, or updates that reflect your expertise, and work to earn high-authority backlinks from trusted sources in the medical field. These efforts help ensure that your digital presence stays strong as Google’s algorithms and Knowledge Graph grow.
By following these steps, you can not only secure a Google Knowledge Panel but also build a powerful, authoritative digital presence. For healthcare professionals, this means enhancing patient trust, improving professional visibility, and establishing yourself as a credible expert.
Have you started working on securing your Knowledge Panel? What steps have you taken so far? Share your progress with us LinkedIn or Facebook!
If you have questions about getting started, feel free to contact us!
