Google Knols - not very visible in search results

[gouri]

When knol started there was talk about how it would be at the top of a search result but I am noticing that when you search for a particular topic on google if a knol has been written on it it is nowhere near the top.

Many of the knols written are by doctors and contain a lot of good information. I think those knols should be ranked highly in a google search.

Does anyone have an idea of why the knols are not ranking highly?

[signor_john]

Maybe because they're all so new, and they haven't had time to attract a lot of inbound links? That's my guess.

[tedster]

That makes sense to me, signor_john. The only way most of the knols could rank in organic results right now would be through some kind of forced positioning.

Even the blended in universal search results depend on the page from the other type of search having a good natural rank in its own vertical.

[Lord Majestic]

Knol won't rank as well as Wikipedia for a long time - the reason Wikipedia articles rank so well is because the domain has got over 1.3 mln external domains pointing to it with over 670 mln external backlinks. Just to put this into perspective - it makes Wikipedia top 7 site in the world when ranked by external domains: Knol has no chance unless Google fiddles with ranking algorithms something I doubt very much they will do for such a small fish like Knol.

[tomda]

Wrote two Knol to test for a very specific topic, the main issue I see is not that Knols are nowhere near the top but the fact that there are not indexed in Google despite the fact there are indexed in Knol.

[gouri]

I think you guys have given some really good answers to explain how Wikipedia does well in a search but I had a couple of questions.

No matter what subject you are searching for on google if there is a Wikipedia entry on it it will be on the first page. I don't think all Wikipedia entries have a lot of backlinks so how does it get onto the first page?

My second question is many probably feel that Google would create Knol because it can make money but if the knols are not ranking on the first page then how is Google going to make money with it? Also, if the knols are not ranking near the Wikipedia entries on a subject how can knols be thought of as an alternative to Wikipedia?

[StoutFiles]

The day Google skews results to promote their own sites is the day Google looses its footing as the #1 search engine. They have to stay impartial.

I assume at some point once Knol has enough articles they will throw a link to it on the main Google homepage. They did it with Google Maps among others.

[tedster]

No matter what subject you are searching for on google if there is a Wikipedia entry on it it will be on the first page. I don't think all Wikipedia entries have a lot of backlinks so how does it get onto the first page?

First, there definitely are topics where Wikipedia does not get onto the first page - but it certainly does a lot of the time. I'd say this is mostly the result of their very thorough internal linking. That passes the PageRank from external links around the site and helps many other pages to rank that don't have many backlinks.

Google Knols does not (yet) have the advantage of such thorough internal linking.

[gouri]

A link to Knol from the Google homepage is pretty valuable but will it help all knols come up higher in a search?

I think another important question is how is Google going to make money with Knol? With the knols not really coming up in searches, I don't really see how.

[gouri]

Does anyone think that knol will have pagerank when google does its next update?

Maybe that will help.

[tedster]

Don't look to so-called "PageRank updates" as the moment of help. Those updates are only changes in reporting.

PageRank itself (the real number that Google uses to calculate ranking) is being continually calculated. In other words, PR goes up or down long before you ever see the change on the publicly available PR data.

[gouri]

Thank you for giving me some details on PageRank.

I feel that Google has some of the top people in their fields writing knols and these knols are appearing nowhere near the top when a search in google is conducted. Looking at some of these knols, they are excellent.

The top people in their fields are helping knol to have good content on it on the level of Wikipedia but with them not showing up in searches how will they be rewarded for it?

How is knol going to continue to expand? I see potential in knol but I don't see google making moves.

How do you guys feel about all this?

[tedster]

I think we'll see them become more visible over time. As with many Google ideas, the idea comes first, the marketing and visibility comes later.

[gouri]

Hi Ted,

I think in terms of idea Knol is a very good one. But it is only with marketing and visibility will knol authors start to make money. It has to be on the first page of a search.

Do you think in six months time knol will be a lot more visible than it is now?

[signor_john]

Gouri, if Knol is successful, the site will get more links and (as tedster said) "we'll see them become more visible over time." But think about this, too: If Knol becomes a successful product like Google Maps or Google News, many users will go directly to Knol to find information on various topics. (A product with the Google brand on it and a link from the Google navigation scheme won't have to depend exclusively on search referrals.)

Of course, Knol could turn out to be a bust, the way Google Answers was. It's too early to tell.

[callivert]

It's the sort of thing that should naturally attract links, since the content is hosted by a trusted and well-known brand, ie Google.
If they emphasise quality on knol, then it will rise to the top.
The big danger for knol is that it could meet the fate of so many article sites that have gone before it, of being polluted by spam. If that happens then Google's own spam algos will kill it off.

So far from what I've seen, the articles are okay, but often a little spammy, so it could go either way. I use the word "spam" loosely here, meaning a low-quality article about a high-payout niche.

[gouri]

Don't you guys think that for knol to convince people to write high-quality articles for it the knols have to start showing up in google searches? There are many good ones now that are simply not showing up in the serp.

If people see that their knols will be ranked that will motivate them to write one and knol can grow.

[gouri]

I think for many subjects that are searched for on google when the wikipedia entry comes up high it is a good source of information. Sometimes, for some subjects, I notice that the wikipedia entry comes up high but it is not really a great source of information.

I know someone who wrote above mentioned that wikipedia comes up high because they have a lot of sites linking to it but if the entry is not a good source of information shouldn't it appear lower? Or does google basically set the wikipedia entries to come up high even though it may not be great.

[gouri]

The reviews are coming in on Knol and they are saying that it appears that Knol is not a great product.

After looking at it, can you guys please tell me what you think? Is it going to become a success?

[StoutFiles]

After looking at it, can you guys please tell me what you think? Is it going to become a success?

The only appeal it has for me right now is that you can link Adsense to it. But other than that, it's information that others can't edit...so if my information is incorrect then no one can change it. I don't see how that could compete with Wikipedia.

[gouri]

They do have features that allow others to make changes or others to make suggestions and then the author can take them.

I think that is similar to Wikipedia. Do you think that will allow knol to compete?

[graeme_p]

I think knol has limited appeal.

If you are not doing it for the money, contribute to Wikipedia, set up a site on free hosting, etc.

If you are doing it for the money, set up your own site so you can exploit your traffic in whatever where is more profitable.

Wikipedia (and other sites) also has the advantage of a single article per topic/term, and good internal linking. I can see no way knol can replicate it.

Without site wide editing, knol is far more vulnerable to spam.