Extract Google knowledge graph data using Google Sheets
I created a cool little tool to extract knowledge graph data for any query instantly. Simply enter the query into this Google sheet and click the button and get all the information that Google has for that entity. Click below to try it now
I created this after I read Entity SEO: Moving from Strings to Things by Dixon Jones. If you're curious about how entities work in SEO, this is a great place to get started. This can have several useful applications, including:
- Ensuring Google is aware of your brand
- Identify opportunities to improve your knowledge graph
- Compare your brand strength with competitors
- Ensure content topic is correctly focused
- Explore related topics for keyword research
What is Google's knowledge graph?
Launched in 2012, Google's knowledge graph is a huge database of entities (people, places, things, etc.) as well as facts about them. As a result, Google can be highly focused in its searches.
For example if you were to search for "latest Stephen King book", Google knows that you are looking for a book by the American author, Stephen King. It also knows it needs to know the publishing dates for each book. As a result, it can ignore 99% of its index when making the search resulting in faster, more focused and accurate searches. As an added bonus, it also makes searches better for the environment.
Google displays knowledge graph data when searching for entities, such as the following for Taylor Swift:
Since she is one of the biggest stars on the planet right now, its no surprise that her knowledge graph is chocked full of information, such as:
- Her name
- Who she is
- Images
- Date of birth
- Net worth
- Songs
- Albums
- ...and much more
For lesser known entities, getting all this information from a Google search can be a bit trickier. Trying to pick bits of information from what they choose to show you in the knowledge panel can be a chore. Therefore, having a tool which can get all of this information and pull it into a handy spreadsheet can be really helpful.
How to set up
Once you have created a copy of your sheet, you need to log into the Google Cloud console. Then take these following steps:
- Create a new project, if needed.
- Create API key - Go to the Credentials page, click "Create Credentials" then "API Key"
- Enable the API - Navigate to "APIs & Services > Library" then search for "Knowledge Graph Search API" and click enable.
Once you have completed the above steps, enter your API key in the Settings tab.
The Settings tab will also contain limit, which is the number of rows of data will be extracted from the API.
When running the script, you will get a message from Google asking for permission. If you get the message "Google hasn’t verified this app", click Advanced then "Go to Knowledge Graph API (unsafe)".