What is the Google Knowledge Vault?
For the past several years, Google has been working on building a knowledge vault to store knowledge about … everything. Albert Einstein. How airplanes work. Ingredients for dairy free ice cream. Google’s goal is to create a ‘machine system’ that has the whole of human knowledge stored in one place. This will make Google search results smarter and more accurate to what people are searching for online, helping them find the information they need more efficiently.
As of 2014, the Knowledge Vault had pulled in 1.6 billion facts. Of those, 271 million were rated as “confident facts,” meaning a more than 90 percent chance of being true. It predicts this by cross-referencing new facts with what it already knows.
As you read through this, you may have concerns about privacy or how a company like Google can decide truths within the knowledge they compile. The big takeaway today is that the Google Knowledge Vault can impact your pregnancy center in three primary ways. First, it will impact your Google rankings which determines if women will see your site or not. Second, it will impact a person’s experience while on your site. And finally, it will impact whether or not someone seeking information about your services can trust the information on your site.
At the end of the day, reaching your clients with life-saving support and resources is your number one goal. In this free guide, we will help you understand how Google views information so you can maintain visibility as you keep your website ranked high in Google’s search results.
Why does the Google Knowledge Vault matter for my center?
There is much to think about as you learn more about this massive Google endeavor. Our heart at Choose Life Marketing is to represent your messaging well. Along with that goal, we understand the technical aspect of being in alignment with Google’s practices. As we bring messaging and the technical together, our goal for centers is for you to have the greatest impact without compromise. Ultimately, we care most about your mission and reaching pregnant women who need your services.
Accuracy, not just links, matter to SEO.
You may remember in the past, Google’s algorithm noticed and rewarded sites for lots of backlinks. But, they failed to distinguish if those links were strong and relevant. Google is now ranking websites based on truthfulness, not just on how many links you have. As the algorithm has grown more advanced, how Google evaluates links has grown more sophisticated, and today, Google can recognize if the links are relevant to the content.
For example, if you have a call to action on your services page that encourages women to schedule an appointment, you should include a link to your contact or appointment page so women can more easily navigate there. This is a great way to utilize linking throughout your site.
Now, while links are still important, the accuracy of the information on the page matters immensely to Google. If Google notices something they perceive as bad information or misinformation, they will factor that into your rankings because they only want to provide the best, most accurate information to people using the search engine. How does Google determine accuracy? A large part of that has to do with the language you use …
The language you use matters.
The language you use on your site needs to be in alignment with industry standards. What do we mean by this? The specific descriptive words you choose to use need to be accurate and precise. Here are some examples:
Embryo vs. fetus vs. baby
While we know from the moment of conception, a woman is carrying a baby, Google views child development terms more scientifically. As you write content for your site, Instead of using the term “baby”, an embryo develops into a fetus who then develops into a baby. If you use any of these words on your website, be careful not to use them interchangeably. An unborn baby is an embryo until the eighth week after fertilization, and a fetus after eight weeks. As you use these terms, it’s important to use them accurately so Google ranks your website high in their search results pages.
Birth control vs. abortifacients
This is another common example we see where there is information on pregnancy center websites that can be perceived as misinformation by Google. We know that many forms of birth control can cause abortions, but your messaging goal needs to remain neutral to show up in search results, allowing you to best reach abortion minded women. If you choose to list birth control as a type of abortion, it is considered inaccurate and will cause Google to dock your site in its rankings.
It is still so important to have abortion information included on your client site. We want pregnant women to find you first in their search for abortion information. We recommend having a page that provides specific information about the various abortion procedures. You don’t have to go into great detail on each one, but there should be enough substance both for Google and your readers to understand you know what you are talking about and are a reliable resource for the information they are seeking.
Abortion pill reversal
Because this procedure is still relatively new to many scientists and physicians, Google has not yet caught up with abortion pill reversal information. Therefore, providing information about it on your website should be handled with care. If you offer abortion pill reversal at your center, you should definitely have information on your website. Make sure it is well sourced from a variety of medical and scientific sources if possible and write about it with the perspective of Google’s Knowledge Vault and your website rankings.
What should I do now?
Remember that your ability to reach abortion-minded women is greatly impacted by your search engine optimization (SEO). If your SEO is negatively impacted by inaccurate content on your website, you may miss a lot of abortion-minded women who need your life-affirming services and help – simply because they cannot find you in their Google search.
Here are some things you can do to make sure the information on your site is accurate and stays accurate:
1. Perform a website audit.
Especially if it’s been awhile, you should go through your website content with a fine-tooth comb to look for inaccuracies and areas where you can refresh or beef up your content. Make a list and then work on updating the content so it’s scientifically accurate and up to date. If you get stuck or have questions, we also offer website audits and would be happy to help with this aspect of your website management.
2. Create your own reference guide.
Create a document that is easily accessible by your team and make a list of terms and phrases and the correct way to use them. Start with the information we provided above and build on that based on your knowledge, fact checking against the information Google provides in search results.
You can then use this guide to create all your content moving forward for your website, social media, Google My Business, blog topics and more. All of these things work together to improve your overall SEO and assure your website is in alignment with Google’s Knowledge Vault.
3. Be selective about what goes on your website.
In addition to making sure the language is accurate on your website, you should also evaluate whether what types of information needs to be there. Google compares word choices on websites with its indexed knowledge base to determine how factual the information is. One area of vulnerability on your website includes the type of abortion information you include.
An example would be a page about abortion risks and cancer. Keeping in mind your nuetral messaging and desire for people to find your site, it is better to keep the risks more vague than go into detail about how abortion causes cancer, because, while we believe that to be true – it is a questioned fact by some medical professionals. Instead, center your content on that page around the fact that abortion does cause serious short-term and long-term risks and women deserve to know all those facts. Encourage women to schedule an appointment to learn more so they can make a fully-informed decision.
Remember, this is about keeping your content neutral while still achieving impact with your message. Utilizing Google’s search engine to reach abortion-minded women is a very effective way of influencing them and making them aware of the life-affirming services you offer. The Knowledge Vault is going to keep growing and becoming more sophisticated – so the more you know and are aware, the more opportunity you have to research and adapt to protect your website ranking and best reach those who are considering abortion.
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