This is Part 2 of our six-part series on how local businesses can adapt to the latest search trends. Today, we’re diving into entities—what they are, why they’re essential for search engines, and how you can use them to boost your business’s online visibility.
What Are Entities, and Why Should You Care?
Search engines have moved beyond just matching keywords. They now focus on entities—specific “things” like people, businesses, products, or locations—and the relationships between them.
When Google introduced its Knowledge Graph in 2012, it shifted from understanding text as strings of words to recognizing these distinct entities. For example, instead of just seeing the words “best pizza,” AI looks for businesses, locations, or specific products tied to those words.
With tools like ChatGPT and Google Gemini, entities have become even more crucial. They help AI understand what users are asking for, prioritize relevant answers, and deliver results that feel personalized and accurate.
How Entities Work in Search
Entities are connected through knowledge networks, like Google’s Knowledge Graph, Wikipedia, or Wikidata. These networks define the relationships between entities and their attributes, helping AI:
- Understand Context: What a user is truly asking for.
- Assess Credibility: Whether a source or business is trustworthy.
- Determine Relevance: How well an entity matches the query.
Over time, AI builds its own web of connections, learning how entities relate to one another in real-world contexts. This means the stronger your business’s presence within these networks, the more likely it is to show up in search results.
What This Means for Your Business
Let’s say someone searches:
“What’s the best beginner-friendly bike for commuting in San Francisco?”
Search engines don’t just look for websites that include these words. Instead, AI identifies:
- Bike: A product (entity).
- San Francisco: A location (entity).
- Beginner-friendly: An attribute tied to experience level.
- Commuting: An attribute tied to purpose.
AI uses these connections to provide relevant recommendations, like bikes designed for San Francisco’s hills or features like easy gear shifting. It pulls this information from trusted sources, reviews, and local mentions.
For your business, being recognized as a trusted entity means:
- Search engines will better understand what you offer.
- Your business is more likely to appear in results for queries specific to your industry or location.
How to Optimize Your Business as an Entity
To make your business stand out as a recognized entity, you need to:
- Claim and Optimize Your Google Business Profile: Keep details accurate and updated.
- Use Schema Markup: Add structured data to your website to help search engines understand your services, products, and location.
- Earn Mentions in Trusted Sources: Collaborate with local blogs, influencers, or community sites to build credibility.
- Focus on E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authority, Trust): Collect positive reviews, display certifications, and create helpful content that demonstrates your expertise.
Part 4 will dive deeper into some of the specifics of how to optimize your entities.
Entity Optimization Is Essential for Success
Search engines are only getting smarter. If your business isn’t recognized as a trusted entity, you risk being overlooked in favor of competitors who are. Optimizing your presence for entities isn’t just about ticking boxes—it’s about building a strong foundation of trust and relevance.
Stay tuned for Part 3, where we’ll dive into real-time search with tools like ChatGPT and Google Gemini and how your business can stay ahead