Claiming Your Pastor’s Google Knowledge Panel

Well-known people, organizations, sports teams, musicians, and places have what’s known as a Google Knowledge Panel. When you search for a public figure or widely-known place, you’ll come across the Knowledge Panel on the right-hand of the screen. For example, if you type in “Paul McCartney,” the famous musician’s panel appears to the right of the search results, showcasing a gallery, where you can find his music, a biography, his upcoming shows, his most famous songs and albums, and where you can find him on social media. Google does this because they’ve found it’s more beneficial for the user if Google uses these panels to display basic information– it means users don’t have to continue searching to find these items.

Only pastors that are “well-known” by Google will have a knowledge panel. You can find out if your pastor has one by searching for them by name and checking the right-hand side of the search results page.

Each Knowledge Panel can be “claimed” by someone associated with the person, place, or thing. Google’s intent is to make it easier for users to continuously update their panels so that people searching for them will always have the most accurate and up-to-date information. With that in mind, once you’ve claimed the panel for your pastor (should one exist), you will still need to request that the information be updated. While you’re able to send requests for updates to Google, Knowledge Panels are unlike your Google My Business account, where you can personally make updates at any time.

Note that some searches for your church (typically “direct” searches explicitly containing your church name) most likely display your church’s Google My Business property in the Knowledge Panel format. While you certainly should claim your church’s Google My Business property if you haven’t already, this is fundamentally different behavior than what we are discussing in this blog, because Google grants businesses complete control over their Google My Business profiles.

Steps to Claim the Panel

You’re likely always looking for ways to invite more people to join your church. When people search for your pastor, they’ll be more likely to view your website or want to learn more about the parish if you’ve claimed your pastor’s Knowledge Panel and keep it up to date.

Step 1: Make sure you’re logged into your Google Account. You’ll need to create one if you don’t already have one.Step 2: Navigate to Google’s search engine, and search your pastor’s name.

Step 3: When you see the Knowledge Panel to the right, scroll to the bottom and click on the blue badge that says “Claim This Knowledge Panel.”

Step 4: Review the information about the access you’ll gain once you’ve successfully claimed the Knowledge Panel.

Step 5: Google will ask you to log into one of several sites or profiles to verify that you’re associated with the person in question.

Google will let you know once verification is performed successfully.

If you have questions or would like more information about finding your Knowledge Panel, feel free to reach out to us.