Welcome to the world of “Entity SEO,”  a fascinating concept transforming how we approach Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

Read this article because it reveals how entity-based SEO can enhance your search engine rankings through a more nuanced understanding of content and context

The TLDR on Entity-Based SEO

• “Entity SEO” is a concept that describes a transformative shift in Google’s search engine algorithm. Instead of relying solely on keywords, Google now places increased emphasis on entities, defined as uniquely identifiable objects or things. Entities are characterized by their names, types, attributes, and relationships between entities. 
  
• The birth of Entity-based SEO can be traced back to Google’s pivotal blog post, “Things, not strings.”  This post signified the evolution of Google’s algorithm from a straightforward keyword detection system to a sophisticated model capable of discerning the underlying meaning behind keywords, thanks to machine learning.

What Is An Entity?

Before we dive deep, let’s demystify what an entity is. An entity is a uniquely identifiable object or thing characterized by its names, types, attributes, and relationships to other entities. In simpler terms, think of an entity as any concept or thing that can be distinctly identified – a person, a place, a brand, a product, or even an idea or a concept.

For instance, “The Eiffel Tower” is an entity. It has a unique name “The Eiffel Tower”, a type (it’s a monument), attributes (like its height, location, and construction date), and relationships to other entities (like Paris, Gustave Eiffel, and France).

Entities have gained significance as they represent the future of search engine ranking, content selection and search terms,. They offer a deeper understanding of the text for both humans and machines, enhancing the quality of query responses and document representations.

Entities can be diverse, ranging from locations and people to businesses and abstract concepts. They are prominently displayed on the search engine results page (SERP) through various features such as Google Business Profiles, image searches, Knowledge Panels, and intent clusters as sources.

Wikipedia entries are classic examples of entities, providing comprehensive information about a particular entity. An entity gains recognition when it is cataloged in an entity catalog such as Wikipedia, Wikidata, DBpedia, Freebase, or Yago, which assigns a unique ID to each entity.

Understanding Entity SEO: Enhancing traditional SEO with the Entity-based approach​

It’s all about context.

The ever evolving Google’s search engine, the way we approach SEO is seeing significant changes.

As search results continue to evolve, we can no longer rely solely on stuffing our content with keywords.

Entity SEO presents a new paradigm, which leverages the semantic integrity of the content to appease the ever-sophisticated Google’s search algorithms

Entity SEO focuses on the core of your information, such as a business in itself or the service it provides, unlike the old strategy of focusing purely on keywords. At the heart of Entity SEO are entities.

An entity, for example, can be a person, place, or thing. Google’s knowledge graph utilizes these entities to better understand context and intent behind searches.

In SEO entities can help refine search results and provide more accurate matches for user queries. Semantic SEO plays a great role in optimizing for entities and build authority.

Semantic SEO, also related to Entity-Based SEO, aims to improve the context within a given content. By maintaining relevance and consociation between the entity and corresponding content, the search engines find it easier to index and rank pages.

Accessing the helpful guide to Entity SEO can be a gamechanger for your website. Inclusion of schema markup, for instance, aids Google’s search engine in understanding the context of the content on your page. Schema provides more detailed information about the website’s entities to search engines. I

t’ll also influence the appearance of your search results within the Google’s knowledge graph, enhancing the appeal of your information in the search engine land.

A well-rounded Entity SEO strategy requires a deep understanding of the semantic relationship between content and relevant entities.

Knowing the intent behind searches is key.

For instance, how is your entity related to other linked entities within your page?

Is your website’s information answering the real intent of your customers searches?

These are the questions that can guide us into creating great Entity SEO strategies.

Ultimately, taking an entity and entities approach to SEO presents related opportunities to enhance your business’ online presence.

By understanding and implementing an Entity SEO strategy, your website’s content can surpass mere links and keywords, moving into the realm of Entities- a realm in which context, knowledge, and intent, reign supreme.

Why search results are pivoting towards the Entity based search model?

Understanding the importance of entities in Entity SEO isn’t just useful; it’s becoming essential.

We’re observing an apparent pivot in search results towards an Entity model. This approach, postulated by SEO gurus like Dave Davies and Sara Taher, believes that search engines are moving away from traditional keyword-based SEO, focusing more on the ‘entities’ associated with the keywords.

The primary goal is to contextualize content based on the entity related to it. Entity SEO is, thus, positioning itself as a revolutionary guide, placing a larger emphasis on users’ intent and the context of search queries.

Let’s break it down using an example;

Users looking for “Apple,” are they searching for the tech giant or the fruit?

Traditional SEO might struggle to differentiate, relying heavily on additional keywords to match user intent.

On the other hand, Entity-based SEO would verify other entities linked to the user’s query, allowing the search engine to deliver more targeted search results.

In this case, Apple the company wins out over the humble fruit!

This offers a sophisticated advantage over simply indexing page content based on keywords.

In fact, ‘Google’s Knowledge Graph’ is a pure example of this model, creating a vast knowledge base of information to enhance search results.

Entity Catalog to the Knowledge Graph

Focusing on the transition from the Entity Catalog to the Knowledge Graph. It’s a fascinating journey, so let’s break it down into simpler terms.

Imagine the Knowledge Graph as a giant, interconnected web of information. It’s made up of three key layers:

1. Entity Catalog: Think of this as a vast library where every single ‘entity’ (like people, places, things) that’s been identified over time is stored. It’s like having a card for every book in a library, but for every piece of information on the internet.
2. Knowledge Repository: This is where things get organized. Here, all the entities from the Entity Catalog are brought together. It’s like putting all those library cards into neat categories and adding detailed descriptions to each. Google has something called the Knowledge Vault, which is their version of this repository.
3. Knowledge Graph: Now, imagine adding strings to connect all those categorized cards, showing how they relate to each other. In the Knowledge Graph, we add attributes (like details and characteristics) to each entity and establish relationships between them. This creates a massive, interconnected web of information.

What are entity attributes ?

Think of an ‘entity’ in a knowledge database like the main character in a story. This entity could be anything – a person, a place, an event, or even a concept. Now, around this main character, we gather all sorts of information, much like details in a story. Here’s how we do it:

1. Attributes: These are the characteristics or properties of the entity. Imagine describing a person; attributes could include their name, age, occupation, etc. For a place, it might be the location, population, and climate.
2. Entity Types: This is like assigning a genre to our main character. Is the entity a person, a place, a business, a product? Classifying entities helps in organizing the data better and makes it easier to find in a search.
3. Social Media Profiles: For entities that are people or organizations, linking their social media profiles is like adding a modern twist to their story. It provides real-time, dynamic information about them.
4. Media: Just like illustrations in a book, media (like documents, videos, audios) add depth to the entity’s profile. They provide a richer, more engaging way to understand the entity.
5. Related Entities: Finally, think of related entities as supporting characters in our main character’s story. They show connections and relationships, like family members, colleagues, historical events, etc.

Think of an entity attribute as a specific detail or fact about something or someone. In the world of SEO and knowledge databases like Wikidata, these attributes help to paint a complete and detailed picture of an entity. Let’s use the entity Gordon Ramsay as an example:

• Gender: Male
• Country of citizenship: United Kingdom
• First name: Gordon
• Last name: Ramsay
• Date of birth: November 8, 1966
• Birthplace: Johnstone, Scotland
• Spouse: Tana Ramsay
• Number of children: 5
• Language spoken or published: English
• Occupation: Chef, Television presenter, Restaurateur, Writer
• Known for: Multiple Michelin star restaurants, television shows like Hell’s Kitchen and MasterChef
• Awards received: Several culinary and television awards
• Residence: London

These attributes on Wikidata create a comprehensive profile of Gordon Ramsay, giving a clear understanding of who he is, his background, career, and personal life. The Wikidata record for Gordon Ramsay would present these attributes in a structured format.

We often come across terms like ‘entity types’ and ‘domains’ or ‘classes’. These terms help us group together entities (like people, places, or things) that share similar characteristics. It’s like sorting different items into boxes based on their features.

1. Entity Types and Domains: Imagine you have a box labeled “Person” or “Human.” In this box, you would place entities that are people. All these people would have common attributes like place of birth, place of residence, date of birth, etc. These common attributes define the domain and associated entity types. It’s like having categories and subcategories.
2. Example of Gordon: In the case of Gordon Ramsay, his entity type could be “Chef” or “Television Presenter.” This indicates that he belongs to a group of entities sharing characteristics common to chefs or television presenters, such as the names of the restaurants they run, the culinary styles they are known for, or the television programs they host.
3. Entity Types – Similar to Object-Oriented Programming: To make it even simpler, think of it like object-oriented programming in computers. In this analogy, an entity type is like a class, and each entity (like Gordon Ramsey) is an instance of that class. They all share the properties defined by the class but also have their own unique attributes.

Sources for Entity Data

Let’s talk about the different sources Google uses to gather information for the attributes of entities in its Knowledge Graph.

Understanding these sources can really help grasp how SEO works and how to find SEO entities.

Sources for Unstructured Data:

• Normal Web Pages: Google ‘crawls’ through regular websites, collecting information. Using Natural Language Processing (NLP), it understands and extracts entity information from the content.
• Search Queries: Google also analyzes the search queries people type in. Again, using NLP, it extracts information about entities and their relationships.
• Unstructured Databases and Datasets: These are databases that don’t have a fixed format. Google can pull entity information from these as well.
• The Knowledge Vault: This is a special case. Google uses it to identify and interpret entities from unstructured content. It’s a large-scale database that combines extracted information from the web with existing databases.

Sources for Semi-Structured Data:

• Encyclopedias like Wikipedia: These sites have a systematic structure that makes it easier for Google to extract information. Wikipedia is a rich source for entity attributes.

Sources for Structured Data:

• Semantic Databases and Datasets: This includes databases like Wikidata (formerly Freebase), Google My Business, CIA World Factbook, DBpedia, and YAGO. These databases are already organized in a structured manner, making it easy for Google to use their data.
• Websites with Structured Data: Websites can structure their data using Microdata, RDFa, and JSON-LD. This structured format is easily readable by Google for use in the Knowledge Graph.
• Licensed Data and Datasets: These are data sources that Google has permission to use. Examples include ClueWeb09 to ClueWeb12, Common Crawl, and KBA Stream Corpus.

What are the best ways to find SEO entities?

Here are ways to find enities using tools:

1. Google Image Search
2. Google Trends for related queries and topics
3. Wikipedia for main entity research and related topics
4. Google Knowledge Graph Search API
5. InLinks – a company specializing in semantic SEO

Google collects information about entities and their relationships from a variety of sources, ranging from unstructured web content and search queries to structured and semi-structured databases.

So, how do we optimize for Entity SEO?

Let’s break it down into simple steps:

Identify Important Elements

Start with an Entity Audit Look at your website and figure out the key things you’re talking about. This could be your products, services, or even events you’re hosting and in what location. Think about what makes your website special and what you want people to find when they search what the relation is to those entities, and what entity type it is (person, place, thing)

Use Structured Data

Once you know what’s important on your site from the entity audit, you’ll want to describe these things in a way that search engines understand. This is where structured data comes in. It’s like giving search engines a clear roadmap of your site. Tools like JSON-LD or Microdata are perfect for this.

Create Epic Content:

Your website should have content that’s not just good for search engines, but also for the people visiting your site. Group related topics together. For example, if you have a furniture website, make sections or clusters for chairs, tables, sofas, etc. This makes it easier for visitors to find what they need and for search engines to see how your content is connected. Use natural language processing and focus on the quality of the content. Avoid keyword stuffing as that will impact user experience.

Internally Link Pages Up

Inside your website, internally link between pages and posts that are related. This helps visitors navigate your site and lets search engines see how your content is linked.

Keep an Eye on Performance:

Use tools like Google Analytics to see how your website is doing. Are people visiting? What are they looking at? This info can help you make your website even better.

By focusing on important topics, using structured data, creating great content, linking everything smartly, and monitoring your site’s performance.

Search Results and SEO Entity Context: A closer look at Entity Model versus Previous Search Models

In SEO, the focus has shifted significantly towards the context, with the advent of the entity model. What’s this, you may ask?

Entity SEO prioritizes entity metrics and information within the search engine’s Knowledge Graph, fundamentally altering the landscape of search results.

While previous search models relied heavily on keyword-based strategies, entity SEO focuses on the entities found in document content, making it more topical and context-driven.

For example, if you’re creating pages centering around a specific brand or complex topic, Google’s search engine algorithms now index these pages using entity metrics for better relevance.

It doesn’t mean keywords have become obsolete; they still provide structured and related information, contributing to the overall entity and enhancing the page’s SEO (on-page). Crucially, they guide the interpretation of the context in which entities interact with each other on the page.

The Knowledge Graph is Google’s tool for identifying and linking entity content. Entities here aren’t necessarily physical entities.

They can be an idea, a brand, or an abstract concept. The graph integrates these entities to deliver precisely structured search results, augmenting the traditional keyword-based model. Therefore, anyone looking to maximize visibility on Google’s search engine must understand the mechanics behind the Entity SEO approach.

Let’s take an entity in the Knowledge Graph, for instance, ‘Apple,’ the technology company.

Google’s Knowledge Graph doesn’t solely rely on keyword occurrences like ‘Apple’ or ‘iPhone’ to index pages related to this brand. Instead, it bases the indexing on associated entity metrics — such as ‘Steve Jobs,’ ‘Macintosh,’ ‘Cupertino,’ — and a lot more that falls under the entity ‘Apple.’

It provides layered, contextual relevance that traditional keyword-based SEO might struggle with.

SEO tools nowadays offer invaluable insight into implementing Entity SEO effectively. By creating content that addresses a spectrum of related entities — or in other words, by enriching the entity context— we can enhance a page’s visibility in search results, going beyond the simplified keyword-based approach. Just remember, the purpose of Entity SEO isn’t to replace keywords but to work in tandem with them, providing users with the most accurate and relevant search results.

Final Word: Entities are the future of SEO

By embracing the entities approach in SEO, you’re not just hopping on the latest bandwagon, you’re revolutionizing the way you conquer the search engine realm. Say goodbye to outdated strategies and hello to a whole new level of online success.

With this cutting-edge entity-based approach, your website will soar above the competition, delivering mindblowingly relevant entities and mind-expanding search results to users. Don’t just stay ahead of the SEO curve, leapfrog over it with confidence and creativity.