Jason Barnard: Conversations with Google’s Knowledge Graph – Episode 172

Content Strategy Insights

Jason Barnard Like many digital practices, search engine optimization is becoming more conversational. Not long ago, SEOs had to make their best educated guesses about what was working to get their websites to rank better. Now, by focusing on both feeding information to and gleaning feedback from Google's knowledge graph, Jason Barnard helps companies craft content strategies and messaging architectures that keep their brand prominent in Google's search results. We talked about: his diverse background as an economist, musician, cartoon dog, and brand-SERPs expert how he got interested in Google's knowledge graph how Google can identify the author of an article, even without a byline how your content helps Google understand what your business is about how he uses Google's understanding of a business to plan content that can clarify that understanding his observation that "SEO is just packaging content you should be creating anyway, packaging it for Google" the importance of well-structured, consistent content the challenges of aligning human communication quirks with Google's machine-precise evaluation of web content the reliance of Google's new Search Generative Experience on their knowledge graph Jason's bio Jason Barnard is the CEO of Kalicube. Jason is also an entrepreneur, author and digital marketer who specialises in Brand SERP optimisation and Knowledge Panel management. Jason uses the pseudonym "The Brand SERP Guy" for his professional work. Connect with Jason online Kalicube LinkedIn Video Here’s the video version of our conversation: https://youtu.be/8uAg0pjGEj4 Podcast intro transcript This is the Content Strategy Insights podcast, episode number 172. Practitioners of search engine optimization are famous for their fealty to Google. Nowadays, though, what used to be a guessing game with SEO's trying to divine what Google wants to know about a website can now be more of a conversation between a brand's messaging and content teams and Google's knowledge graph and search engine. Jason Barnard knows more than anyone about the content strategies and messaging architectures behind these advanced search-marketing practices. Interview transcript Larry: Hi everyone. Welcome to episode number 172 of the Content Strategy Insights podcast. I am really happy today to welcome to the show Jason Barnard. Jason is the founder and CEO at Kalicube. But Jason, Google knows you by some other names as well. Can you tell us a little... Well, first of all, welcome and tell the folks what Google thinks you are. Jason: Yeah, Google's had a lot of different opinions about me and thank you for, A, inviting me and, B, asking me that incredibly delightful question to start. My career in the past was a musician. I was a professional musician for years. Before that, I had an economics degree with statistical analysis and I was going to be an economist, that didn't happen. And I joined a rock band playing double bass, punk folk music. And then I became a cartoon blue dog called Bua with a hugely successful website and a TV series that was aired around the world. And then I tried to become a digital marketer and I pitched to clients and clients would seem incredibly interested and then they wouldn't sign, and I couldn't figure out why they weren't signing. Jason: And then one day, one of my clients who actually became a client said, "Well, we searched your name after you left the office and it said at the top Jason Barnard is a cartoon blue dog. And we think that's funny, but most people probably wouldn't want to give their digital marketing strategy to a cartoon blue dog." At which point I thought Google is a child. It hasn't understood what I'm trying to project to my audience, I need to educate that child so it understands the cartoon blue dog is now in the past, and that today I'm a digital marketer and I want to be represented primarily as a digital marketer.