Google´s Knowledge Graph May Show for 25% of All Search Queries

Steven Levy, a popular American journalist who has also authored many books on computers, technology, and more came out with an important revelation that 25% of all Google searches show a knowledge graph associated answer or box. Levy got the news while interviewing the key players and decision makers on the Google search team. He believed Google, the search engine giant, will never make the information public.

Steven Levy extensively talked about the knowledge graph, which is used by Google to enhance its organic search results. He even discussed how important the acquisition of Metaweb Technologies was for the knowledge graph.

The 25% figure is important for yet another reason. Usually, an internet searcher gathers relevant information from the knowledge graph answers and boxes without feeling the necessity to go to the publisher’s website to get the answer. Thus, is the knowledge graph of Google not hampering a publisher’s business leading to the generation of 25% less traffic than what it would be without the graph!

A rising number of publishers are getting worried about Google’s knowledge graph that tends to pose a threat to monetization and optimization. Steven Levy, however, does not address the concerns of the publishers with the knowledge graph and how and when they cite their sources. He also does not talk about the significant news of Freebase (which is behind MetaWeb) shutting down and transitioning the data to Wikidata. It is, of course, good news for Wikidata. Google is said to wind down the Freebase service as a standalone project in mid-2015.