Demonstrating deep understanding of queries, Google recently enhanced its search service with a new innovation called Knowledge Graph. Similar to Facebook’s social graph, which is a set of relevant data about users and their contacts, the knowledge graph is a set of relevant information about particular search queries. Search results will now be supplemented by sets of relevant facts. This means that along with the standard list of results, the page will also display a set of associated facts in the sidebar panel on the right.
For instance, search term ‘Marie Curie’ will provide a summary of facts about the scientist’s life like her birth and death dates, the names of her children, schools attended as well as associated searches. Unlike earlier major service improvement attempts like Universal Search and Search Plus Your World, which focused on widening the scope of content presented by the engine, input methods or delivery speed, Knowledge Graph is an effort to make the engine more intelligent.
Knowledge Graph attempts to convert Google from a search engine into an answer engine. While Google’s latest innovation seems to be a step in the right direction, search marketers remain concerned that the move will dampen the flow of curiosity, which carries traffic, clicks and ultimately revenue downstream to other sites.