Google expanded on Knowledge Graph results

[Sgt_Kickaxe]

Last week when I performed a search for a signer's real name I would see the traditional results on the left along with a mashup bio about the singer on the right.

This week I can search for "band's name" + "singer", where singer is just the word and not a name, and I still see the bio for that same singer. Google extrapolates that I'm looking for a person and returns the bio in the right column.

On the left side however is a list of all singers the band has had and a single wikipedia entry is the lone visible natural ranking on the page. There are no other sites visible above the fold.

What's new is that to see the bio on the right I used to have to type the singers real name but now there are other keywords which lead to the same thing, and the extra data on the left.

I'm going to mention a random name since this doesn't lead to anyone's site, I know that specific search terms are not allowed on WW but this is a public figure and I don't have a screenshot. Remove this paragraph and example during pre-moderation if it's not acceptable, but I hope it is. Thanks.

Genesis <--- returned bio in right sidebar on Google.com, as usual.

Genesis singer <--- now also returns bio on right side plus extra stuff on the left, this is new.

It's conceivable that all results will, eventually, have the right sidebar info and perhaps more too. It won't necessarily need to be a specific name, item or entity as it was until recently. At least, that's where Google seems headed.

[Robert Charlton]

Sgt_Kickaxe - Thanks for checking. Yes, [genesis] is a good sample query for reasons you stated. You're talking about Knowledge Graph results, and I've added the term to the title of the post to reflect that.

I feel that Google is always testing its serps layouts and pages returned, though, so we may not be seeing exactly the same thing.

Just to clarify, for the search [genesis] by itself...

...in the Knowledge Graph results I'm seeing in the upper right, I'm seeing a disambiguation of two possible meanings of Genesis, basically standard for Knowledge Graph, but with no images, elaboration, related results, etc, in the right panel. Just....

See results about

Genesis
Band

{17-word band description)


Book of Genesis

{19-word Book of Genesis description)

But when I click on the Genesis link above "Band", Google populates the query [genesis band] into the search box, and shows Knowledge Graph information for the band on the right...

...ie, a mixture of text, images, etc... but all involving named "entities", real world things to which Google assigns unique names. On the left, as I see it, Google returns more or less standard Google results for the query [genesis band], including Wikipedia, YouTube, and various authoritative results, but not the same as the results you describe for query [genesis singer].

To get the [genesis singer] Knowledge Graph results you're talking about, where there are Knowledge Graph results also on the left, I need to enter the [genesis singer] query into the search box. When I do that, Google displays the same Knowledge Graph results for the band on the right... and on the top of the left results panel it returns "Genesis Lead singers" followed by three lead singer pictures and names, each on a separate line, with fairly large pictures... but with Wikipedia and then additional Google organic results below.

I can't reproduce exactly what you describe, but if I click the "Lead Singers" bolded text on the right, the query box populates with [genesis band lead singers], and I get roughly what I described before.

What you describe....

...and a single wikipedia entry is the lone visible natural ranking on the page. There are no other sites visible above the fold...

...takes a lot of liberties, IMO, with what's on the page. I see the several Wikipedia entries plus two other results above the fold, and the page has seven organic results in all.

[lexipixel]

Have you seen a "Google Discography" yet?

...add the word discography to a musician search to see how Google is going to swallow up another fat niche of websites, (music fan / discography / music history / etc sites, bye-bye).

I was looking for news of Alvin Lee's death, and stumbled across the "Google Discography" SERP widget -- it's a horizontal image slider with album covers and names that run across the entire width of the window. There are chucks of (WikiPedia) scraped content on the left and right.. all the albums are clickable for more info and expanded search results.

I expect they'll add links to Google Play or some other GOOG branded service to sell tracks or albums soon...